POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Blue Waters Recovery Foundation in South Florida has taken a unique approach to addiction recovery by pairing sober living residents with rescue dogs, a strategy that founder Tiffany Skuraton says has transformed lives and raised the center’s sobriety success rate.
Tom Stout, a client at Blue Waters, says his dog Sammy was key to his recovery.
“I’m a junkie, I shot dope for 23 years, and I just figured one day that I wanted a better life,” Stout said. “When I wasn’t willing to love myself, he loved me, and that changed a lot.”
Stout said the companionship from Sammy provided him a sense of purpose he hadn’t felt before.
“It’s not always about having something to come home to,” he said tearfully. “It’s about having something not to give up and leave.”
Founded in Pompano Beach, BWRF combines sober living homes with Skuraton’s non-profit dog rescue.
By assigning rescue dogs to each of the center’s seven houses, Skuraton aims to provide residents with responsibility, companionship, and the motivation to stay clean.
“It has made such a difference — these women will say, ‘My rescue dog saved my life. When I wanted to give up, I had a responsibility to come home to her or to him,’” said Skuraton.
The program allows residents to bond with dogs as handlers first and then as foster parents, with the option to adopt.
Skuraton currently oversees 15 dogs across Blue Waters’ sober living facilities in South Florida, but the impact has been felt by hundreds of residents over the years.
According to Skuraton, adding pets to the treatment process gives residents something valuable to work for and helps them develop empathy and a sense of accountability.
“All of a sudden, getting to take care of an animal, something comes alive in them,” she said. “A light goes on in their eyes, a smile that wasn’t there before.”
Robert Silva, a resident in the program, is currently fostering a special-needs dog named Precious. For him, the relationship is reciprocal.
“She helps me just as much as I help her,” Silva said. “I think she probably helps me a lot more. I don’t think she understands half the time.”
Dogs like Precious play a key role in residents’ recovery journeys by offering non-judgmental companionship and support, according to Skuraton.
Peter Cunningham, a rehab graduate now working as a manager at Blue Waters, is never alone in his journey, often seen around the facility with his three rescue dogs.
“Being able to love and take care of another creature — it’s rehab within a rehab,” said Cunningham. “We’re helping them, but they’re really helping us.”
For Skuraton, the program’s success has exceeded her expectations.
“I watched it work,” she said. “I knew how it could be good, but I had no idea the impact.”
Blue Waters Recovery Foundation continues to bring new dogs into the program, giving residents a fresh start alongside their four-legged companions, and helping each other heal, one day at a time.
For more information on their organization, the different pets available, or how you can make a donation, click here or here.
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