BOGOTA. Colombia (AP) — On the Central Army Hospital in Bogota, an uncommon unit patrols the hallways with a mission not like another battalion: lifting the spirits of troopers wounded in fight.
Kratos, Rafa and Lupa make up the so-called “furry drive,” a bunch of emotional assist canines that go to service members recovering after being injured in clashes with Colombia’s unlawful armed teams.
One after the other, the three canines enter the room of 2nd Sgt. Jeisson Sánchez Duque, who was shot throughout preventing within the northwest province of Antioquia. Kratos, essentially the most senior of the canines, greeted him with a paw after receiving treats. Then, Lupa settled on the ground and Sánchez brushed her as he remained seated on account of his again damage.
“It’s one thing completely different … you neglect the ache and concentrate on the canines,” Sánchez advised The Related Press.
Troopers are nonetheless battling the scars from a decades-long battle in Colombia that led to 450,000 folks killed and compelled 7 million to flee their properties. Regardless of a 2016 peace settlement between the federal government and the nation’s largest guerrilla group the FARC, numerous armed teams nonetheless function in Colombia. These teams, together with some who broke from the FARC, dispute territories vacated by the FARC and the dear illicit economies that run by them, together with drug trafficking.
Launched in April 2024 after a go to from an animal care group, this system goals to supply psychological assist and ease restoration for troopers going through each bodily and emotional scars, together with amputations from landmines and accidents from drones dropping explosives.
In accordance with the U.N. Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), incidents involving explosive gadgets in Colombia rose 94% between January and July in comparison with the identical interval in 2024. The hospital has additionally famous a rise in sufferers who’ve been injured by explosives launched by drones.
Kratos was donated by the Air Power, then Rafa by the Military after which two extra canines had been donated by the hospital’s docs.
This system has since expanded to let sufferers carry their very own canines and supply wellness breaks for workers.
“(The canines) present a profit in affected person restoration, supported by physiological adjustments that happen throughout interactions, which we would view as leisure, however on this case, they’re therapeutic for sufferers,” Eliana Patricia Ramírez, the hospital’s deputy medical director, defined to the AP.
For soldier Luis Miguel López, who misplaced a part of his leg to a mine in Puerto Valdivia in Antioquia province, the canines’ visits helped break by the despair he felt whereas within the hospital.
The expertise additionally reminded him of Goma, an anti-explosives canine who saved his unit a number of occasions earlier than being killed by a blast.
“I used to be so depressed in my room, as a result of I used to be holed up in there. My spouse gave me assist however it wasn’t the identical,” he stated.
“When these canines are available, they modify you as a result of they create happiness.”
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