Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Healing Species

Bullying, violence and crime are very real problems.

The Healing Species is dedicated to addressing these issues through their Compassion Education program.

They rescue dogs, that are themselves victims of neglect and abuse, and after the dogs become healthy some are chosen to go into classrooms. This 11 week program empowers students when dealing with bullies and it teaches a whole lot about empathy.
This program has been validated by research, for people that like numbers instead of anecdotal stories. In fact, they've been so successful that they have satellite programs in Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and even New Zealand!

I would love to see one here in New Orleans, "Murder Capital of the United States". There's a lot of bullying, violence and crime here. Also, it would give the kids a chance to see the positive side of dogs as opposed to the dog fighting and the use of dogs for intimidation that goes on.

The story behind Healing Species is another inspiring one for me because the woman that started this was actually a lawyer before she decided to quit her job and start this program. She saw a need, and took it upon herself to change things. Thanks Cheri Brown Thompson, for making the world a better place!

Who's going to be that someone in your neighborhood to "be the change"? It could be you!

***UPDATE*** I just got a lovely e-mail from Marie Milhouse at Healing Species:

Sarah,

Thank you so much for your wonderful blog about Healing Species!!!!  You are making New Orleans and this world a better place, inspiring others to be changers and aware of issues that affect people and animals. 

We would love to have Healing Species in New Orleans!  Please let us know if you or someone you know is interested. 

May God bless you.

Sincerely,
Marie Milhouse

So now the challenge/invitation is out there! Any takers?!

2 comments:

  1. Wonderful post! I'd not heard about this program before, but the results are hardly surprising. Dogs are excellent ambassadors of joy and compassion.

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    1. I agree, but there are definitely a lot of people that are scared of dogs, partly because of how they are used. A lot of kids in my neighborhood were scared of my dog because he's big. They were worried about him attacking them. It just showed me what they have and have not been exposed to. Now they all love my dog and fight over who gets to play fetch with him.

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