Dimensions of Humane Communities_2_Sarah Schmidt and Meg Daley Olmert

Peaceable Kingdom: The Big Fix in northern Uganda

Sarah Schmidt, the founder and president of The Big Fix Uganda’s Comfort Dog Project and Meg Daley Olmert, Director of Research for the Warrior Canine Connection will present the first One Health animal assisted therapy model fighting cruelty and despair in Northern Uganda. The Big Fix Uganda—a non-profit , based in Port Townsend, WA--operates the only veterinarian hospital in Northern Uganda.  Since 2012, The Big Fix has provided its services, 365 days a year, in its quest to ease the suffering of animals in Northern Uganda and eradicate the deadly threat of rabies. The fate of Northern Uganda’s dogs is not much better than its people. A 20-year-long vicious civil war has left 70 percent of the survivors impoverished and traumatized. In 2015, BIG FIX introduced The Comfort Dog Project to teach people who have never known dogs as friends, to build loving bonds with dogs that can save both their lives. Against all odds, Guardians and their Comfort Dogs are forging family bonds where there were none, creating a powerful psychobiological buffer against despair. Together both are safer and happier, living proof of a Big Fix.