Garry Botterill, founder of Service Dogs UK, shares his journey from the Royal Navy to the police force and his passion for using dogs to support mental health and wellbeing. He conducted research in the US and the Netherlands on PTSD assistance dogs, which inspired him to create a pilot program.
With funding from the Churchill Trust, he travelled to these countries to learn more about their service dogs. Service Dogs UK focuses on recruiting rescue dogs and has expanded to three locations. The organization welcomes support from the emergency services and is dedicated to helping veterans and personnel with mental health challenges.
Takeaways
- Garry Botterill founded Service Dogs UK to support mental health and wellbeing using dogs.
- He conducted research in the US and the Netherlands on PTSD assistance dogs, which inspired him to create a pilot program.
- Service Dogs UK focuses on recruiting rescue dogs and has expanded to three locations.
- The organization welcomes support from the emergency services and is dedicated to helping veterans and personnel with mental health challenges.
Sound Bites
- “I thought I’ve got to do this, this is fantastic.”
- “It can have a very positive effect on you.”
- “If there’s any chance of actually making his life and other people with PTSD lives better by using dogs then that needed to be explored.”
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction and Background
- 03:05 Inspiration for the Pilot Programme
- 05:04 Learning from the US and the Netherlands
- 06:32 Recruiting Rescue Dogs
- 07:32 Expansion to Three Locations
- 09:01 Supporting Veterans and Emergency Services Personnel
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