On May 21st, Larry Brazon or Bear, as most know him became the 30th graduate of the Little Blessings 50-week Equine Assisted Therapy Program! This is admittedly a long post, but it is certainly worth pausing to read.
Lawrence Brazon served in the United States Army from 1969-1970 and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant E-6 during his service in the Vietnam War.
His decorations and medals are as follows:
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Bronze Star Medal
As you can see from the photos, Bear has a special connection with our therapy horse Bjorne, whose name coincidentally (or not) means Bear in Norwegian. These two made fast friends at the very start of the program and it has been a beautiful honor to watch their relationship grow over the last year. Bjorne, who is generally very cautious and even a bit skittish, becomes instantly calm and trusting in Bear’s presence. Bear struggles with neuropathy in his legs; a lasting effect of agent orange exposure. Bjorne has been observed on many occasions placing his muzzle directly on the area of Bear’s legs causing him pain at that very moment. Bear described this experience to the attendees at his graduation; “He just knows I’m hurting. I think he can sense it and he’s just checking in on me. I don’t know how he knows, but he does.”
Bear is one of those people that brings light and laughter to any room he enters. He can strike up a conversation with any person from any background and has a way of making everyone he encounters feel seen and understood. His wisdom, charisma, and kind heart shine so brightly in every interaction he has. It has been a great privilege for our team to go on this journey with him.
We want to thank the incredible folks at DAV and AMVETS not only for making this program possible for Bear through their sponsorship, but also for showing up to celebrate his graduation with us. Your support means the world to us and we know it does to Bear as well.