WATERTOWN, Wis. — A Wisconsin veteran-run organization is impacting the lives of veterans across the country.
Sierra Delta is a nonprofit that focuses on the wellness of veterans. While service and support dogs are a big part of the work Sierra Delta does, it does not provide dogs.
It helps people get dog training of any kind. That includes emotional support, obedience, hunting, service and much more.
Sierra Delta has been around for nearly a decade.
The organization was created by BJ Ganenm. Ganenm is a Marine veteran who found healing through his own dog and wanted to share that love and purpose with others.
Wisconsin is home to hundreds of thousands of veterans. The Department of Veteran Affairs recently released a survey sharing data on veteran suicide rates in the country.
In 2022, on average, there were about 18 veteran suicides per day and over 6,000 veteran suicide deaths that year.
These are numbers many veteran organizations are hoping to change through their programming and resources. Sierra Delta has made an impact on the lives of veterans.
“I’m just proud to walk his journey with the rest of these veterans and their dogs,” Sierra Delta Founder, BJ Ganenm, said.
Ganenm was able to use his own experience to improve the mental health and lives of hundreds of other veterans.
He said he had thoughts of taking his own life, but knew his dog needed him and was his purpose.
It sparked Sierra Delta to be created in 2017. Using the power of dogs to help veterans find a purpose and a passion, all while tapping into the skills they learned in the military.
“What that does is it taps into that leader that we were trained in the military to be,” Ganenm said. “It doesn’t matter if you are a private or general, somebody is counting on you. By re-establishing that sense of team, through this bond with a dog, that lays the foundation for us to improve them beyond that,”
Army veteran Lee Otto is a success story from Sierra Delta. He’s been with his dog, Sayge, for the past five years.
“Having a dog just helped me in all aspects of my life,” Otto said.
Otto served for nearly a decade and was wounded while in combat. He said after coming home; he dealt with some traumas. He said his dog Sayge made all the difference while he was working on himself.
“In the beginning, I really struggled with nightmares,” Otto said. “He would lick my face to wake me up. He would lay on my legs when they were failing around. As I progressively got mentally better, working with him, those got a lot less. My symptoms got a lot less. I didn’t need medication. I needed tail wags and dog licks.”
Otto said a therapist of his recommended he get a service dog. He went searching and had many failed attempts to get on a list or find a dog through other organizations.
He then found Sierra Delta, and he said it changed his life for the better.
After the war, Otto said he struggled socially and didn’t want to be around others. He was in a shell and didn’t want to come out.
Once Sayge came into his life, he began to open up more and is now a pastor at his local church.
“He (Sayge) is just something different,” Otto said. “He has helped me through some of the biggest struggles of my life, and he makes it all go away.”
