ARLINGTON, Va. - The quiet black dog made his way throughout the room, pausing here and there for a pat on the head or scratch behind the ears. For some in attendance, he was difficult to resist, in the way that many friendly dogs with a wagging tail and an earnest eagerness to say hello are difficult to resist. But, this particular dog was more than just a friendly dog saying hello. In his own way, he was working to make strides against sexual assault and providing a pathway for survivors of sexual assault to heal.
Part of the Wisconsin National Guard's sexual assault and prevention response team, Falcon, the dog who made his way through the crowd, was just one part of activities at the Army National Guard Readiness Center, here, marking the start of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
For Falcon, it was just another day connecting with people, something he does easily, especially with survivors of sexual assault, said Amber Garfoot, a sexual assault victim advocate coordinator with the Wisconsin Guard.
Survivors may feel uneasy or as if they are being judged by others when speaking about their assault experience, said Garfoot.
"Falcon has the ability to not do that," she said, adding that Falcon goes with members of her office on nearly every step of working with survivors.
"When we are working with survivors, they'll often get on the floor with him or have him come up in their lap and they speak through him to us," said Garfoot. "He is their ally, he is their safety net and he helps mitigate their anxiety."
He also works to build bridges and allow for a greater connection for the Wisconsin Guard's victim advocacy program.
"The impact that it's had both with victims and our program has been amazing," said Army Capt. Robert Brania, a sexual assault response coordinator with the Wisconsin Guard. "It's really been an awesome ride in terms of things that we've been able to accomplish as a program."
That includes being able to simply raise greater awareness about sexual assault concerns and allow for a greater discussion about those concerns.
"The outreach has been unexpectedly beneficial from the day he was brought to our office," said Brania. "The amount of events we've been invited to has increased tremendously."
Brania said at some of those events, Falcon is sometimes initially seen as being the mascot of the Wisconsin Guard, rather than his role in providing for survivors of sexual assault.
"They might think there's Falcon, the Wisconsin National Guard mascot," said Brania. "That's great, but we can then show up and we'll say "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting us. Let's talk about sexual assault.' It's really been an open door."
But Falcon is more than simply a well-trained dog. Initially trained as a guide dog to be placed with a visually impaired individual, the potential for joint problems meant Falcon proved to be a better fit in other service dog roles, said Garfoot.
"Falcon is a credentialed service dog," she said. "A service dog has to be mandatorily trained to perform at least three specific tasks to help somebody with a disability. He has different tasks he'll do to mitigate stress, tension or post-traumatic stress triggers."
The ability for Falcon to perform tasks related to stemming PTS triggers is important, said Garfoot, noting that survivors of sexual assault often have higher rates of PTS than that of combat veterans.
"All of the Soldiers we work with suffer from some type of psychological disorder in which Falcon is trained to help mitigate," said Garfoot. "He's been very helpful in the office, not just with helping mitigate some of those anxieties, but also with outreach."
That outreach element is just as crucial, said Garfoot.
"We often have Soldiers that will approach us and they will talk with us about a commonality they have with a dog or about their love for a dog," she said, adding that initial contact through Falcon may pave the road for a larger feeling of approachability for other issues related to reporting or talking about a sexual assault.
"They get to know us in a different way at first and then when they are ready to approach us about a different issue they have a commonality or a sense of trust already built with us," said Garfoot. "That's what Falcon's role in the office is."
That ties into larger efforts throughout the Guard that focus on greater support for survivors of sexual assault and working toward eliminating instances of sexual assault, which are all part of the goals of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Throughout the month, there are plans for symposiums, distribution of informational materials and a coordinated and focused effort that makes sexual assault prevention part of everyday conversation.
"It's not an acceptable behavior," said Brania. "It's not appropriate conduct. It's a crime."
It also means a rethinking of certain things to affect lasting results.
"We have this culture in the military about everything being black and white in a regulation," said Garfoot. "That's great for order and discipline. But, sexual assault victims don't always fall into the black and white. They often fall into a grey area. They need different care to be ready for combat or just to move on in their lives."
That means innovative and creative avenues to provide that care.
"It's really important that we look out for creative ways to help people move on and help people heal and continue to be Soldiers," said Garfoot. "That's what we're really trying to do. To look out beyond the black and white and into the grey areas and see how we can help our victims."
For Garfoot and Brania, that was what led to Falcon. Initially, the idea was simply to have a dog in the office as a way to increase visibility and approachability, said Brania.
"The thought was what if we were to have a dog here to get people talking about our program, something that we could use to interact with victims or Soldiers in general," said Brania.
From there it led to something greater and a partnership with a local service dog academy.
"There is zero government money that goes into supporting (the basic needs of) Falcon," said Brania. "Ownership of Falcon remains with the service dog academy that placed him. There is a memorandum of understanding in place and all kinds of other things related to his care and needs."
Building rapport, increasing visibility and providing for better support for survivors are all some of the benefits that have come from that partnership.
"It's really opened up the opportunity for the organization to talk about sexual assault in an avenue that's not overly negative," said Brania. "The more we talk about it, the better. It was worth putting it on the line to try it."