Comfort Dog Project
The Comfort Dog Project is the first and only canine-assisted trauma therapy program in Africa.
People & dogs saving each other
In 2014, The BIG FIX Uganda launched The Comfort Dog Project in response to the deep psychological wounds left by a brutal 20-year civil war in Northern Uganda.
With over 700,000 people suffering from PTSD and almost no access to mental health care, survivors were left to suffer in silence. The lives of northern Ugandan dogs have always been brutal and short. Everyone knows someone who has suffered and died from rabies. In 2014, The BIG FIX Uganda undertook an audacious mission to see if the traumatized people and dogs of Northern Uganda might be able to save each other’s lives.
Good dog!
Research into the therapeutic success of canine-assisted trauma interventions in the West, shows the stronger the bond, the more effective the outcome. In northern Uganda, people and dogs have never been friends.
Over 20-weeks, , the teams practice patience, concentration, empathy, and clear communication–social skills often damaged by trauma. New guardians develop these essential skills by practicing them with dogs that have never been fully domesticated. In a few moments, fear and mistrust dissolve and the pairs create some of the first powerful human-dog bonds in northern Uganda. These powerful bonds rewire the brains of guardian and dog, quieting fear, lifting depression and allowing joy. More than 120 guardian/dog pairs have graduated from the program, with clinical evaluations showing lasting improvements in reducing PTSD, as well as improvements to overall mental health and wellbeing. As guardians regain the tools to connect, they are better able to rebuild relationships with their families and communities.
The Comfort Dog Project combines the two most effective trauma interventions: dog training and Dog-Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. working with rescued street dogs, forming deep bonds built on trust and mutual healing. In 2021, The Comfort Dog Project’s Scientific Advisor published 5 years of therapeutic data in the peer-reviewed journal, Intervention, illustrating the effectiveness of the program.
Trauma Counseling & Support
For the past decade, we have hosted monthly group counseling sessions for trauma survivors in five villages across Northern Uganda. Every participant in The Comfort Dog Project was first identified and selected through these counseling groups.
The Comfort Dog Project makes a lifelong commitment to every guardian and dog team. This includes assisting with food and medical care costs for both the guardian and the dog, as well as providing ongoing psychosocial support—not only for the guardians themselves, but also for their family members.
Monthly gatherings bring all Comfort Dog Project participants together for group and individual counseling, peer support, and shared healing—ensuring that no one in our program walks their journey alone.
Carrying it forward
Fifteen of The BIG FIX’s 32 permanent staff members are graduates of The Comfort Dog Project. Many more CDP graduates work with The BIG FIX as members of our School Education Team, trainers and mentors for the new CDP teams, field educators at our village clinics, and as community mobilizers.
Three of BIG FIX’s Hospital Veterinary Assistants are CDP graduates, as well as our Lead Dog Trainer, both of our Animal Welfare Officers, and members of our security staff. CDP graduates make up 100% of our Animal Welfare Team and handle rescue calls, rehabilitation, fostering, adoption, home checks, and animal care.
Filda was abducted as a child and forced into the LRA rebel army in Uganda, where she witnessed terrible atrocities. As part of The Comfort Dog Project, Filda was paired with a dog who was abandoned as a puppy. The two are now helping each other heal, along with many others like them.
WATCH FILDA’S STORY | DONATE TO ANOTHER PAIR CONTINUING HEALING
CDP Guardian Moses, with Comfort Dog Fifi by his side, reads his poem about the impact The Comfort Dog Project had on both of them. WATCH VIDEO