AMONG some of the statistics offered by beyondblue, approximately two million Australians live with anxiety, one million Australians live with depression and nearly eight Australians die by suicide every day (six of whom are men).
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These sobering figures, and a tragic personal loss, have led Australian Working Stock Dog Magazine publisher Wayne Flintham to organise the Working Dog Schools for Mental Health Awareness – a national program where expert working dog trainers voluntarily lend their expertise to small groups of stock dogs and their handlers in training workshops.
Mr Flintham is a Queenslander, a stock dog lover and a bloke just wanting to help out.
Back in 2015, he lost a very close mate through suicide.
“It came right out of the blue, all of us – his friends and family didn’t pick up on anything,” he said.
Mr Flintham aims to help raise $30,000 in 2017 to help beyondblue – a charitable organisation that provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
So far he has enlisted the support of trainers across most states to conduct 15 dog training sessions with potentially more to come.
One of the current trainers is Merriwa’s John Wightman.
He has been training stock dogs for about 30 years and has not only twice represented NSW, but has also been an Australian representative in the Trans-Tasman Course involving three-sheep trialling.
“It’s a passion for me – breeding, training and trialling a dog is a great challenge,” he said.
Mr Wightman’s eagerness to participate in the Working Dog Schools for Mental Health Awareness program also stems from personal experience.
“I’ve battled with depression and had really good help and this is an opportunity to pay back for the help I’ve been given,” he said.
Katie Doherty travelled to the event from Mudgee and was another participant keen to assist.
Dog trialling is her passion and found the Merriwa location to be “very convenient and close by”.
“I’ve got a better idea how to work with dogs and have also learned about the work performed by beyondblue,” she said.
Christian Croft travelled from Aberdeen and was interested in acquiring better dog handling skills to better control Molly – his Border Collie.
Also from Aberdeen was Dennis Borham, who was “brought up with dogs and thought I’d give it a go”.
He has only been dog trialling for a few years but will walk away from this school with “more knowledge in getting the best out of a dog”.
The school was a howling success with dogs with participants having a great time learning as well as hopefully attaining a greater awareness of the importance of mental health.
Mr Wightman gratefully acknowledges the generous and vital support of the following sponsors and helpers: Landmark Townsend Scone and Merriwa for their cash donation towards the school and expenses; Upper Hunter Shire Council for waiving the Merriwa Showground hire fee; Alexander Downs Wholesale Meats for donating meat to the event; Jake McIntyre of Upper Hunter Sound & Audio Hire for the provision of the sound system; Robyn and John Wightman (snr) for their cash donation and a lot of legendary home cooking; Ray White Rural Dubbo for the donation and transportation of sheep for the weekend; and John’s wife Terrianne who helped make sure that the school ran smoothly.
If you or anyone you know needs assistance, contact:
Lifeline 131 114
MensLine 1300 789 978
beyondblue 1300 224 636