GIVE ME A HOME WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM

What exactly does a 'Therapy Buffalo' do?  I hear this over and over and over again.  I have thought about it at great length and have no concrete, specific answers.  What I can tell you is that "Bunky," Train a Dog ~ Save a Warrior's largest and grandest therapist, indeed does make a difference.

Okay, what kind of a difference does he make?  To begin with, he is a catalyst to get our wounded warriors and their families, that have never seen a buffalo much less been close to one, out of their rather closed environment and daily rituals of medical appointments, sitting, waiting, and all too frequent isolation and pain, which leads to depression.  Just the thought of a day in the country, in the fresh air, in the country they sacrificed so much for, brings them out of the shell they are living in, to feed a pellet of two to a buffalo and to pet his nose.

There is no scarcity of joy and laughter at the ranch.  Bunky will come when called and is more than eager to stick out his tongue to accept a bit of hay or a pellet.  There is no rehearsal, no anxiety, no deadlines of 'hurry up and wait.'  There is just a slight breeze, a clear South Texas blue sky, and perhaps an occasional thought of buffalo and Indians and days gone by.  Bunky delights in bringing light to the dark places. Or so we wish to think. He, without a moment's hesitation, changes moods, lightens burdens, and has a way of  making a difference.

Much the same as a Therapy Dog and their abilities of non judgmental acceptance.  These warriors have been through hell.  Returning to a country they sacrificed dearly for.  Some return with missing limbs, some with severe burns and some with missing hearts!  They have to learn how to be a part of a life that is foreign to them.  They left one person and have returned to us quite another.  The shrapnel of war is left in bodies, as well as in hearts. Isn't it the least any of us can do to try whatever we can to say thank you, to say welcome home, to say we are grateful, and to offer no judgement, merely acceptance and love. 

"What is life?  It is the flash of a firefly in the night.  It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." ~Crowfoot

It is a peaceful environment  where the only distractions are horses, cats, dogs, and fish ponds, where owls and coyotes serenade at night.  Where the warrior's children run and play and, at least for a while, remember that they are children in a space free from worry, anxiety and concern for a parent struggling to remember who he is or families who might fight to keep from drifting apart.

Once the bison was food, clothing, life and shelter to the Indians, in a place and time when thousands of these magnificient creatures darkened the rolling plains. Today at least one of these highly intelligent animals is providing a different kind of life to some of the men and women who have, with courage and bravado, provided us with safety in  this great country where the buffalo once roamed and seldom was heard a discouraging word!

Today I truly wonder if their glory does indeed exceed ours. Perhaps herein lies the answer.

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Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

Where the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day

Home, home on the range

Where the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day

How often at night where the heavens are bright

With the light of the glittering stars

Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed

If their glory exceeds that of ours

Home, home on the range

Where the deer and the antelope play

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day

Then give me a land where the bright diamond sand

Flows leisurely down to the stream

Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along

Like a maid in a heavenly dream

Oh I would not exchange my old home on the range

Where the deer and the antelope play

Where the seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day.