Simon Rubick had lost almost everything due to decades of alcoholism and drug addiction.
By 2022, he was left without a car and without a home, forcing his two teenage children to move in with friends. He had burned bridges with friends and family and it took a drug-induced stint in hospital for him to realize his cocaine addiction would become a “death sentence.”
Rubick, who lives in Arvada, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, knew he needed help. But first he had to figure out what to do with one of the few sources of unconditional love and support he had left: his beloved German Shepherd rescue, Tonks.
Most residential rehabilitation centers in the United States do not allow patients to bring their pets, said Rubick, 51. So when his brother could no longer care for the dog, Rubick thought he would have to make the excruciating decision to give up . Ton.
“It really came down to whether I could take care of my dog or take care of myself,” he said.
Rubick — who has been sober for more than two years and is now an addiction recovery coach — was associated with the group PAWsitive Recovery, which shelters animals while their owners receive treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, and for people dealing with domestic violence or psychological problems. health crises.
“People who are trying to recover have sometimes lost their families, their children and any kind of support system they may have had,” said Serena Saunders, the organization’s program manager. “You’re not going to exacerbate the trauma you’ve already had by giving up the one thing that hasn’t given up on you, and that’s people’s animals.”
Saunders founded PAWsitive Recovery in Denver three years ago. Since then, it has helped more than 180 people and their pets, and Saunders said the group has aimed to expand nationally after becoming part of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International. The organization, whose largest foster network is in Colorado but accepts applications nationwide, is one of the few programs in the U.S. that cares for the pets of people seeking treatment for substance abuse.
Saunders’ own experience with drug and alcohol addiction helped her tailor the program. She said she had a “pretty broken childhood,” with her mother being schizophrenic and addicted to methamphetamine, and her father also struggling with addiction. She turned to alcohol when she was twelve and used hard drugs when she was fourteen.
“Addiction gave me trauma after trauma,” says Saunders, now 41.
Saunders was seeing a therapist for her depression and PTSD when a chance session planted the seed of PAWsitive Recovery. With a background in veterinary medicine and shelter medicine, which focuses on caring for homeless animals, she told her therapist she wanted to bring her love of dogs into her recovery.
“And that’s what we did,” said Saunders, who cared for Tonks for several months while Rubick was in treatment and facilitated visits between the two best friends.
‘To see a broken person when we meet him in a parking lot, when he has nothing left to live for but his animal. And to see how broken and how desperate they are at that moment, and then to look back six months later and see them completely turn their lives around, is just so special. It’s amazing,” said Saunders, who has been sober for 3.5 years.
That sentiment is echoed by the organization’s volunteer foster families, some of whom are drawn to the program because of their own experiences with addiction.
Ben Cochell, a 41-year-old Denver resident who has been sober from alcohol for more than seven years, has two dogs of his own and has fostered several more.
“One of my favorite parts of being a foster parent in this program is the ability to teach my children life lessons about how to help others and how to care for animals and be kind and loving. And to just give of yourself,” he said. “That’s what you got. Your time and your energy. And you can give that away for free.”
If it weren’t for PAWsitive Recovery, Rubick said he likely would have been living on the streets with his dog and trying to make the recovery himself. But it turned out that being able to keep his rescue dog allowed Tonks to ultimately save Rubick, he said.
“It’s that connection, taking care of another being and letting something else take care of you the way animals do,” Rubick said. “It’s just unconditional, and sometimes that’s one of the things that people in recovery really need to be able to feel.”
Associated Press writer Colleen Slevin contributed to this report.
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