The comfort of an animal can go a long way in lifting a person’s spirits, said Eric Castonguay who is training his canine-friend Beau to be a service dog in Williams Lake.
“Beau has been a service dog in training for about two weeks now,” Castonguay said as he and Beau enjoyed the sunshine in Spirit Square.
Five months ago he read about Beau’s rescue on Facebook and went to pick him up in Houston, B.C.
“I saw that he needed a new home,” he said. “He had been very mistreated and abused for two and a half years. He was hit on the head with a frying pan at the age of 10 months. He was kicked, pushed and locked in a basement for six months and given no food.”
It has been proven that service dogs can help people suffering from things such as paranoia, obsessive compulsive and stress disorders, Castonguay said.
“I brought him to the outside of the hospital where there were patients sitting outside one day. Beau kissed them and they petted him. It made them really happy.”
Another day Castognuay brought Beau to the Salvation Army and visited with two women there.
“I asked one of the women if anything was wrong and she said, ‘no,’ but then Beau sensed something and approached her. She broke down and cried and opened up about what was going on,” Castonguay said.
Castonguay moved to Williams Lake from Vancouver in January of this year and although he is only in his 40s, he is already retired because he has a heart disease.
Castonguay said he has been raising dogs all his life and Beau is the best one he’s had so far.
“He’s a bullmastif, german shepherd, shar-pei wolf mix,” he added. “He really understands a lot. He’s so fun and so cool.”