Veterans swim in Vallejo with Six Flags Discovery Kingdom dolphins
Nov 10, 2012 (Menafn - Times-Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --They may be having issues communicating with other people since returning home from war, but nearly a dozen recovering veterans had no apparent problem connecting Friday with Vallejo's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's dolphins.
The vets, all residents at a Napa County center called The Pathway Home, were treated to the dolphin experience in honor of Veterans Day, park spokeswoman Nancy Chan said. The idea surfaced after a Napa woman who volunteers at Pathway recently did the dolphin experience for her 90th birthday.
"I swam with the dolphins here and it was such a wonderful feeling, I wanted to have it help my boys," Muriel Snyder said. "I think they need an uplift like this, and they're all excited about it."
Chan said once they
heard about these vets, and knowing that animal interaction can be therapeutic, park officials agreed.
"We're giving them dolphin paintings, as well," Chan said, referring to artworks done by the dolphins in the colors the vets selected.
Former Marine Gabriel Ramirez, 29, of Chino; Dale Fishgrab, 40, of Albuquerque; "Marine Sergeant, retired," Bret McAuley, 29, from Indiana; and Alex Penalver, 29, of Sacramento were among the vets at Six Flags on Friday.
"My service affected me in a negative way -- I'm in a residential program, so that says something -- but I got some good out of it, too," Penalver said. "I've been looking forward to this. You get to ride the dolphin, and I'm gonna ride one."
McAuley said he's at Pathway
because he realized he "was having some trouble" adjusting to civilian life.
"And I want a lot out of life, so I had to do something," he said.
Having served in Fallujah, Iraq, between 2002 and 2004, when it was considered the world's most dangerous city, McAuley said he saw disturbing things he didn't want to burden his loved ones with after he got home.
"So, you end up isolating yourself," he said.
Pathway executive director Fred Gusman said his 5-year-old program, housed in the Yountville Veterans Home, helps active duty, reservist, National Guard and recently discharged clients find ways to overcome issues like Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Traumatic Brain Injury and adjust to civilian life. Otherwise, these men, ranging in age from 20 to 48, face a higher risk of suicide, incarceration and homelessness, he said.
"We take a holistic approach to getting these guys to open up, to get them to feel alive again," Gusman said.
Pathway's mission is to provide returning veterans with tools to "effectively complete educational programs, gain employment, maintain healthy personal relationships and successfully reintegrate into society."
Treatments include art, fly fishing, music, yoga, meditation, acupressure, massage and other out-of-the-box therapies, to help the vets integrate their painful experiences and achieve a new normal, Gusman said.
Friday's event started with a lesson by Discovery Kingdom's retired Air Force veteran Lisa Maggard of Suisun about dolphins in general and Discovery Kingdom's in particular.
It included information on man-made dangers that dolphins and the ecosystem face in the wild. Park president Dale Kaetzel identified himself as the men's "biggest fan," and shook each one's hand, thanking them for their service.
But the biggest thanks was the wet one.
"It was awesome, a lot of fun. It was pretty neat swimming with them," said Jake Smith, 25, a former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's not every day you get to interact with dolphins."
Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at RachelVTH.
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