Harlow was a dog on death row.

The four-year-old Boxer mix’s fear was so intense that she would attack other dogs and people. Harlow’s aggression grew so bad that her owner was about to have her euthanized.

That’s when Cierra Ploc, a services coordinator at the Ray of Hope Community Centre (ROHCC), adopted her. With patience, care and training, Cierra was able to rehabilitate Harlow. And in doing so, she experienced her own personal transformation.

Now Cierra is sharing her skills and knowledge with ROHCC guests through a program called Canine Companions. And Harlow, the dog that once lashed out in fear, is helping humans learn to manage their emotions.

Unconditional caring

In working with Harlow, Cierra says, “I’ve experienced a lot of growth and re-connection. She has been paramount in my ability to set goals, have self-discipline, communicate clearly what I need for success, gain emotional insight and practise patience. Through rehabilitating her she has rehabilitated me.”

Cierra hopes that, through Canine Companions, our guests will also experience these benefits, fostering healthy relationships with dogs but also with their peers and ROHCC staff.

“Violence and social isolation are prevalent in the homeless community. In this program, dogs can be a social support. Dogs demonstrate unconditional caring, positive regard and non-judgmental support – things that many guests may not receive in their day-to-day lives,” she says.

A deeper conversation

In the program, participants interact with Harlow and Daisie, an Animal-Assisted Therapy Dog. Some of the activities involve basic obedience training; others are about learning to work as a team.

“How do you teach a dog to lie down, to walk in heel, to look at you and pay attention to you? And why is that so important?”

“We talk about different ways you can play with a dog – tug or fetch or different activities on the leash that you can do, whether that’s weaving through pylons ormaking sharp left and right turns to get your dog engaged.”

Sessions also focus on communication, goal-setting, reward and discipline, structure and routine, social and emotional regulation, and leadership.

“The neat part is that everything that I’m teaching them about dogs, I’m teaching them to recognize in themselves. I can dive deeper into a conversation about what it’s like for a dog to have those experiences and how those experiences relate to human behaviours. How they can give insight into what steps might be necessary in guests’ personal lives to allow them to experience growth and long-lasting change?”

Advocates and leaders

“I’m very hopeful that this program can help people take those next steps, so that they’re able to regulate their emotions better, or make better decisions, or advocate for themselves the way they learned to advocate for a dog,” Cierra says.

“I hope that participants learn to communicate more clearly with their peers. I hope they realize ‘Hey, I can lead a dog, so I can lead people.’”

In fact, Cierra’s dream is that one day she’ll be able to step back from the program.

“My goal is to set one or two people up so that they can lead Canine Companions and possible even create a career for themselves in dog training, sharing their knowledge with the community.”

“That would be amazing. And it all starts with a dog.”