By: Jack Bilyeu
WINSLOW, Ark.- More than eight million Americans struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder every year- many of them veterans. One Winslow man formed a non-profit to help vets in our area in their fight.
“We are a non-profit organization dedicated to taking veterans and first responders on outdoor adventures,” Casey Brewster, founder of Snake Mountain Pack Goats said, “mountain therapy is what we call it.” Brewster has personal experience with mountain therapy- he served in Kuwait and Iraq, where he was wounded in combat.
“One of the biggest things that helped me was to kind of go out and get away out where no one goes, way out in the middle of nowhere,” Brewster said. His day job is teaching biology at Northwest Arkansas Community College, but he’s been the driving force behind this non-profit for more than two years. He saw videos of hikers and hunters using goats to carry their loads in the Pacific Northwest and decided to give it a try.
“The thinking was, they would sort of serve that purpose of lightening everyone’s loads,” Brewster said. The goats are outfitted with a frame and panniers before each trip. When fully grown, pack goats can carry up to 25 percent of their body weight. They also provide emotional benefits.
“When these guys see these goats working their butts off for me and willing to go anywhere I go, it really creates a special bond with these folks,” Brewster said. He remarked that most of their clients treat the goats like big dogs. Dustin Green has been travelling with Brewster since the very beginning.
“They come up to you and they’re your buddy and they are therapeutic, and you get attached to them,” Green said. Green served in Iraq as a US Marine, then returned in alongside Brewster in 2008 with the National Guard. He tries to go on every trip.
“I was diagnosed with PTSD and was dealing with things, and I noticed that just being outdoors helped a lot,” Green said. Post-traumatic stress disorder centers around intense emotional responses to traumatic events- triggering memories or flashbacks. Many victims feel that their guard is always up, and the disorder can foster self-destructive habits. Brewster’s animal therapy aims to help veterans deal with these symptoms.
“Almost all the folks we take out, even the hardest dudes, they end up sweet-talking the goats and loving on the goats because animals just sort of have that connection with people,” Brewster said. He used to take about a dozen people on each trip, but now only takes five to encourage social distancing. Their next trip will be a holiday-themed hike on December 14th.