Bravehound is a Scottish charity that supports former

servicemen The term serviceman, alternatively service member, refers to enlisted members of a nation's armed forces. More generally, the term can be applied to officers as well. For more information see: *Soldier *Sailor *Airman *Marine *Coast guard *Nat ...

, women and their families. They provide training and dogs to support

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

, some of whom have

post-traumatic stress Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

, other mental health issues as well as physical injury. Weekly individual and group training sessions are provided free of charge. Bravehound is funded by the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

using Libor funds, The Covenant Trust Fund and public fundraising initiatives

History

Bravehound began in 2016 as the canine wing of the Scottish charity Glen Art who support veterans and their families through various events including

Theatre of War In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land and sea area that is or that may potentially become involved in war operations. T ...

(2015 & 2018),''A Night To Remember'' (2015) featuring Dr Bill Frankland in support of the Parachute Regiment and a 2016 memorial concert celebrating the life of Sir Nicholas Winton in support of Syrian refugees.

Activities

Bravehound's first dog Irma was paired with a veteran of 22 years military service. At the 2017 Animal Hero Awards Irma received the prize for 'Caring Animal Of The Year'. Bravehound was voted the UK's best Voluntary/Charity project in the National Lottery Awards 2017.

Invictus Games The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spi ...

medallist

JJ Chalmers John-James Chalmers (born 20 December 1986) is a Scottish television presenter, public speaker and Invictus Games medallist. He was injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2011, while serving as a Royal Marine. Early life Chalmers was born o ...

visited the organisation to deliver the news. Chalmers, a former

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. In January 2019 Bravehound founder and CEO Fiona MacDonald was chosen by UK Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

for a Points of Light Award which recognises "outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community". In April 2019 Bravehound won the Soldiering On Award for animal partnership; The Soldiering On Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of those who have served their country, and the diverse people and groups who work together in support of the Armed Forces Community. In July 2020 Bravehound joined with The Theatre of War Project, presenting an online performance with

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), C ...

Nyasha Hatendi Nyasha Hatendi (born 14 September 1981) is a Zimbabwean-British-American actor, director, writer and producer. Early life and education Hatendi was born on 14 September 1981 in Washington, D.C. Hatendi grew up in three countries: the United ...

Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actres ...

and David Elliot. Theater of War Productions presents readings of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

' Ajax and Philoctetes for military and civilian communities.

Scent of a nightmare

Bravehound and Robert Hewings (ex-police dog handler and the Parachute Regiment) are working on a research project that involves training dogs to recognise the scent of

nightmares A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...

. The charity works with Hewings, studying how dogs can be taught to sniff out a nightmare, when veterans may give off a scent of extra

cortisol Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones. When used as a medication, it is known as hydrocortisone. It is produced in many animals, mainly by the ''zona fasciculata'' of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland ...

adrenaline Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...

and

sweat Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribut ...

. Dogs can be taught to intervene when veterans are having

anxiety attacks Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

, which may be linked to the scent of added cortisol release, leading the dogs to wake them, jump onto their lap or seek attention to calm them down. In an interview, Hewing explained:

Patrons

* Damien Lewis *

Awards

2017 'Caring Animal Of The Year' at the Animal Hero Awards.
2017 UK's 'Best Voluntary/Charity Project' in the National Lottery Awards.
2019 Points of Light Award
2019 Soldiering On Awards 2019 (Animal Partnership)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteGlen Art
- Scottish Military Charity Non-profit organisations based in Scotland Assistance dogs British veterans' organisations Organizations established in 2016 2016 establishments in Scotland