A Dog, A Bruin And A Doctor Give Hope To Addicts

Stevens is also a recovering addict. Sadly, his life was changed dramatically at the age of 28. He said that he made “one bad decision”  and that single night drastically changed his life.

“I had never done drugs in my life, but someone stuck cocaine in front of me,” he says. “I didn’t know what it was, but I tried it and that changed my life for the next 24 years.

Stevens’ long battle for sobriety was and often well-publicized. He faced many challenges along the way. One of which was when he developed an  opioid addiction subsequent to receiving a massive hockey injury. This was in addition to his continued use of cocaine. Stevens was also arrested for dealing oxycodone in 2016.

Upon entering a guilty plea in 2017, he became determined to turn his life around. Since that time, he has dedicated his life to helping others. In 2018, Stevens founded a nonprofit organization called Power Forward .   This organization is focused on raising awareness about addiction.

Enter the Dogs, Bringing Hope to Addicts

Currently, Stevens, is a National Hockey League (NHL) scout. He, along with one of his board members, Michael Hamrock, MD teamed up to to offer a unique form of help to addicts in recovery. Hamrock is a primary care and addiction medicine doctor at a Boston hospital.

Known as the DOER (Dog Ownership Enhancing Recovery) program, a trained support dog is sent to live with 12 men residing in a sober home. This Boston program is the first established in the United States. The dog highlighted here is Sawyer, a Golden Retriever and he was part of the first program event.

Dr. Hamrock  said “For the entirety of my practice, my patients have told me over and over again how much their pet dogs have improved their physical and mental health, so I thought we should add this to one of our offerings,”….“I know this will help.”

Over time, they plan to add more dogs to the program.

“I believe meetings, medications, spiritual care and having a sponsor help with recovery,” he says. “But dogs can provide safety, prevent loneliness, help you reestablish relationships, help you find purpose and value and offer unconditional love.”

Dr. Hamrock  said that with overdose deaths in the U.S. reaching it’s highest level last year, we must use innovative ways to address the problem.

Increase of medical risk associated with addiction

“We know the risk factors for heart disease, but we need a better understanding of the brain disease of addiction,” he says, noting that the acronym GAMES offers a good way to quantify the five risk factors: G (genes), A (age of first drug use), M (treated or untreated mental health issues), E (exposure to opioids as a treatment for, say, chronic pain) and S (stress, especially from adverse childhood events) is a good way to quantify risk factors”

One way to mitigate some of those factors is with a well-trained dog. Dr. Hamrock continues to explain, “We know dogs can reduce stress and enhance mental health,” he says. “We also know that pet dogs can help with accountability, create a caring environment, and fill the void of nurturing. We can really see a difference.”