When Paul Roadley has nightmares brought on by his PTSD – which is virtually every night – Luna, his mental health assistance dog, wakes him up.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Western Australian man’s 27-year stint working for various emergency services came to an end in July last year.
“One day I was driving to work in tears and felt like I was going to throw up,” he said.
“I was suicidal by that stage; I even had a plan for what I was going to do.
“Over the years, I’ve seen some really horrendous things – for some people, it does get too much.”
At the recommendation from his psychiatrist to “get away”, and with the support of wife Kirstine, the idea for ‘Driving Oz with the Black Dog’ was born.
“We’d already been talking about doing a trip around the country with the kids, and I said, we should try do it to help other people.”
The Roadleys and their three children kicked off their Australia-wide trip raising money for mindDog Australia and Lifeline seven weeks ago.
Everyone who meets the family wants to know about Luna.
“People are quite intrigued with the concept of a mental health assistance dog,” Mrs Roadley said.
“Australia’s only just coming on board with it, and there was such huge demand mindDog had to close their books last year.”
Luna, already the family pet, was trained by mindDog – and Mr Roadley hasn’t looked back since.
“These organisations urgently need all the support we can give them,” he said. You can donate at: www.mycause.com.au/page/140285/driving-oz-with-the-black-dog.
