Steve Revella doesn’t have to worry about nightmares anymore, now that his new dog Glinda, is around. She lies right next to his bed all night, and if she senses any of the symptoms she’s been trained to notice (like heartrate increase or certain movements), she helps him wake up in a safe way, using her body weight to calm Revella’s nervous system.
Glinda is Revella’s new service dog, provided to him free of charge through the non-profit Canine Companions. The 50-year-old organization opened a Puget Sound extension in Seattle, where training is offered to dogs, volunteers, and people with disabilities who can benefit from a service dog.
“Canine Companions is leading the service dog industry so our clients and their dogs can live with greater independence,” the organization’s website says. “We provide service dogs to adults, children and veterans with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals working in healthcare, criminal justice and educational settings.”
When Revella saw his veteran friends with service dogs, it helped him realize it was okay to get help for the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he has struggled with since being wounded while serving in Vietnam.
“It was a switch,” Revella said. “I finally had to acknowledge I’m not capable of certain things. Up until that time, that’s not something I was willing to say.”
He hopes that by speaking to the Journal and sharing his story, he can help others in the same way that his friends helped him: by showing that it’s okay to get support. Revella started the year+ process in 2023 and was thrilled to finally hear that Glinda, his new pup, was ready to train with him and came home to the island in March of this year.
“We feel blown away,” Revella’s wife, Adele said. “At the graduation ceremony [of the training period], Steve cried, I cried, everybody’s crying. It’s an amazing gift to have Glinda in our lives.”
Glinda is by Revella’s side day and night and is specially attuned to his specific anxiety symptoms and patterns. She helps him with basic tasks, like picking up things he may have dropped or helping steady him, helps wake him during nightmares, and most importantly, stops the cycle of anxiety.
“I would put it in the realm of a breakthrough,” Revella said of Glinda’s help. “She gets my attention off of myself and onto something else. That’s what she does. She interrupts the automatic way that I think and hang out. A lot!”
“He’s been more present,” his wife added. “Rather than just disappearing into wherever he goes when he’s anxious. He’s here.”
A service animal is different than an emotional support animal, in the way they perform tasks specific to a person’s disabilities. Each dog provided through Canine Companions is valued at around $50 thousand, due to the intensive training and care they go through prior to being placed with their companions. With the help of volunteers, puppy-raisers, foster families, and donors, the non-profit is able to provide these dogs free of charge.
“I know that there’s people on this island who really appreciate the relationship between having a dog and wellbeing,” said Adele, who’s hoping to spread the word about the Canine Companion organization to fellow islanders. “That’s what these dogs are for, is really to help people who have disabilities be more independent.”
The Revellas hope that they can advocate for islanders to get involved with the non-profit both as recipients and also volunteers and donors.
“Donations and having volunteers are what allow Canine Companions to get more dogs to more people faster,” Julia Schuehle, spokesperson for the non-profit, said. “Two years is a long time to wait. Hopefully, we can help shorten the wait for other people like Steve that need a dog.”
If islanders see Revella and Glinda around town, it’s okay to smile and wave. But remember, Glinda is here to help Steve.
“A little wave and keep going!” Revella said. “She’s trying to focus on her job.”
Volunteers, donors, or potential companions can find more information at www.canine.org or to Revella’s direct funding page here.
