When John became a guardian in the Comfort Dog Project in 2017, he was struggling with the crippling effects of Post-Traumatic Stress following unimaginable horrors during the 20 year long war in Northern Uganda. His emotional injury was visible in his face and in his isolation and inability to function again in his community.
John named his Comfort Dog Iroba Nono as a way of sending a message to the rest of the world, as is common in the culture of the Acholi people. Iroba Nono means you aggress me for nothing.
When John’s training class began in January 2017, I immediately felt we had made a mistake including Iroba Nono in this group of dogs placed with war trauma survivors.
Iroba had been rescued by BIG FIX from a miserable life. As a young dog, he had chased chickens and killed one. His sentence was to spend the rest of his life on a short chain with no shade, and water only when someone remembered him. He was tormented on his short chain, “to make him a good watch dog”, a fallacy we are trying to combat with the knowledge that a dog who is loved will be a much better protector of his family than one who only knows cruelty.
As a result of his aggression, Iroba had been given the name Danger. Since the day BIG FIX took him off that chain and confiscated him, this big boy never seemed to get his fill of the feeling of freedom.
When John and Iroba started training class, Iroba was rambunctious, wanted to challenge the other dogs, wanted to run, wanted to play with John. He wanted to do anything but focus on learning to sit and stay.
I told John, Maybe it would be better if we placed a calmer dog with you. John firmly said, "No." He said he already loved Iroba Nono and would not give up on him.
When I returned to Uganda 20 weeks later for the certification testing, during which the dog-guardian teams demonstrate that they have mastered all their training manoeuvers, John and Iroba Nono performed flawlessly. I gladly ate my words and learned that the true power of the human-dog bond was even beyond my own understanding.
Like others, John’s participation in the Comfort Dog Project was successful. Before we placed Iroba with him, John scored 36/51 on the symptom severity scale for Post-Traumatic Stress. After he and Iroba completed their 20-week training, John’s symptom severity had decreased to 2/51, where it remained during subsequent assessments. In lay terms, John’s unlikely bond with his dog had allowed him to overcome PTSD.
Life in Uganda is difficult. The average life expectancy is only 51, and Northern Uganda remains entrenched in poverty and a lack of opportunities. Most people struggle to earn money to feed themselves from day to day. John’s journey was no exception. Fortunately, our project recognizes the essential nature of follow up and continuing engagement with all our dogs and guardians. Dogs are seen monthly for checkups at the vet hospital and Francis meets monthly with the guardians and holds ongoing counselling sessions to help ensure that our guardians retain their mental well-being, despite life’s difficult challenges.
In John’s case, we didn’t see him for a month in early 2019, so we went to the place where he was living and found he was in a terrible situation. It was the time of the heavy rains and John barely had shelter from the severe weather and he hadn’t had the money to eat, though when he did have money, Iroba ate first. Both John and Iroba had lost weight. BIG FIX immediately hired John to work as our new compound caretaker. He remained in this position throughout 2019, working every day with Iroba by his side, until he decided to return to his village. There, he was living well with family and friends, had planted a garden, and was seen working in his garden the day before he died. Francis had just completed his annual guardian assessment and John was doing well. He was confident, emotionally strong, and he was taking good care of himself and Iroba Nono. It seemed that with Iroba by his side, John could handle whatever life brought.
The theory is that on Sunday, John’s young heart simply gave out. On Monday morning, BIG FIX obtained permission from the government (required because of COVID-19 restrictions) to travel to John’s village and to bring Iroba Nono back to BIG FIX. Iroba, even more than the rest of us, is grieving the loss of John, and it will take him time to emotionally recover. In the meantime, BIG FIX has hired Amono Lucy (another Comfort Dog Project guardian who adopted Smart – whose guardian also died) to come and spend 4 hours a day with Iroba, to brush him, walk him, and show him as much affection as possible. It is our hope that Iroba can be placed with one of our new Comfort Dog Project guardians, as he needs to have a strong bond with someone again.
After the exceptionally difficult life John had lived-a horror-filled life most of us could never imagine-it seems so unfair that John has left us so soon. I often wonder why I was dealt such an easy life, never having known real hunger, never having experienced a complete absence of opportunity, and not being able to really even imagine what it was like to have been abducted by rebel soldiers and to witness brutal massacres, fearing when I might be the next to be killed. Why, after all John lived through, did he have to die after only having 3 years with the dog who helped him to finally feel peace and joy? All I know is that we must carry on and continue to help others like John and Iroba Nono. By continuing this work, we honor their memory. And for me, I will never forget that John refused to give up on Iroba. He taught me a very important thing in that act: that no matter how difficult things seem, love can conquer all.
Any gifts in remembrance of John can be made to BIG FIX Uganda in honor of Iroba Nono. We will use these donations to help cover the cost of Iroba’s emotional and veterinary care for the rest of his life, and to help other dogs like Iroba who need a chance at a better life.