Unconditional Acceptance w/ Christine Hassing

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How Service Dogs Help Veterans Heal

About The Episode

Growing up on a farm as an only child, Christine Hassing’s first childhood best friend was her border collie, Pepi. Before she learned to accept herself, she felt that energy from Pepi – whose unconditional love led to a lifelong understanding of the important relationship between dogs and their humans. As an adult, she found her soulmate dog in Roo, a German shorthaired pointer – who Christine felt completed her.

Eventually, Roo passed away from cancer, but never left her side in spirit. In Roo’s wake, Christine felt a calling to write a memoir about their experiences together and how much of an impact had been made. That became To the Moon and Back to Me, her first book, and led to a growing passion for writing.

In her latest literary endeavor, Christine decided to widen her lens and explore other examples in the world of how dogs are impacting people in positive ways. It all started in her Master’s program, where she met a military veteran with a service dog. After learning the story of how his dog helped him, she got a better understanding of how many veterans struggle with PTSD and how these dogs can make such a difference for them. From there, it snowballed into speaking with a couple of dozen other vets, and getting a richer comprehension of the ways they were helped, for her new book, Hope Has A Cold Nose.

There’s a myriad of hurdles that the service dogs can help with, such as easing back into public society with a partner by their side, bringing them back into the moment after nightmares, and helping them with depression to get off their prescription medication. As an advocate for holistic healing, Christine aimed to highlight the unconditional love and acceptance of dogs towards their owners and the role that such support plays as a coping mechanism for not just physical ailments, but mental health as well. Veterans can feel listened to without judgment or a perceived burden to their families. Service dogs allow them a “safe space” to accept their story and the courage to share it with others.

Both of Christine’s publications have illuminated the healing power of a dog’s love and the lessons they teach us about understanding one another, and she hopes others can see how special that is.

About The Guest - Christine Hassing

Christine Hassing is an inspirational speaker, leadership mentor, and published author. Her books are To the Moon and Back to Me: What I Learned from Four Running Feet and Hope Has a Cold Nose. She hopes that her writing, which she was inspired to do from her own soulmate dog, can help bring humans and animals together to achieve centeredness and empathy toward others.

Featured Links

InterviewJack SommerAuthors, Service Dogs