I wanted to take this moment to talk thank you for taking your time and giving Creed so much love and energy that has turned him into the amazing dog that he is. I wanted to take a moment to tell you what Creed means to me and how he helps me.
When I first meet Creed, my wife and I had just come in to interview with Chance. After talking to us for a little while, Chance went and got Creed who immediately came up to me and put his head in my lap. A few times, near the beginning, he went over to my wife and checked on her as well. Chance brought up that this may be an issue that we would need to be aware of. To me, it was a great sign that Creed intuitively understood the work that I do. After that meeting my wife and I talked on the ride home, she shared that when he came over to her she was having a very rough time hearing a little of my own experiences with PTSD, and it was at that moment that Creed approached her, doing a little check in with her. Latter in the interview he fell asleep laying on my feet, helping me to recover as well.
For work, I am still in the Army Reserves, working as a family life chaplain. This is a chaplain who has a counseling background and teaches other chaplains how to counsel soldiers. I am also one who often gets called to help with suicides and suicide prevention because of my counseling background. So far this year I have been placed on emergency orders for a total of 23 days helping commands across the entire US with this plague of suicides. As a chaplain, while I am endorsed by a specific denomination, I do not preach my religion, instead I support the soldiers in their own spirituality and religion.
I have described this as seeing soldiers wandering in the dark, having lost their own light, and I wander in there, guided by my own light, and find the soldiers. When I find them, I help them to light their own lanterns, finding their own light that directs them in their own ways giving them their own strength. To me, it is a miracle to see someone find their own light and see them gain strength from their own spiritual connections.
This is where my PTSD sometimes affects me. While my light still shines, at times it is hard to keep walking in the darkness trying to find others who need help. Creed, with his intuition on everyone, has already guided me a few times to reach out to some who are having a difficult time themselves. He also gives me the support that I need to take the breath, to anchor myself and help talk to them. Creed is extremely helpful, even with just the two weeks that I have had him with me. My wife says that she sees a difference, seeing me smile and laugh more, a thing she has missed. Thank you.
Kyle Widlas
