Our Brothers nomination: A dog named Ita has been working as a canister therapist at the New Horizons rehabilitation center for more than a year.
The center is located in the Kaliningrad region in the small town of Ladushkin. The blue-eyed beauty got here by accident, after her mistress saw her special abilities.
"Ita has been living with me since the age of two months, she has always been distinguished by her perseverance, sense of tact and obedience on a leash. We joined canister therapy two years ago. The first classes were held with children with disabilities. Her patience, tact and understanding amazed me at the time. Ita could both play and sit next to the child, waiting for the baby to do the task," said Elena Salnikova, the owner of Ita, founder of the Vesely Dom Husky rehabilitation center for northern sled dogs.
In 2024, Elena got a job at the New Horizons Rehabilitation Center. And so it happened that six-year-old Italy, that's the dog's full name, started working with adults as well. It was there that the governor of the Kaliningrad region, Alexei Bezprozvannykh, noticed her when he came to visit the fighters undergoing rehabilitation after their military service.
"I work in Ladushkin and Mamonovo. I met with the fighters at the New Horizons rehabilitation center. By the way, specially trained husky dogs are helping in the recovery at the center. The center's specialists note that canister therapy (the same method) helps to reduce anxiety levels. Shawn (the dog of the governor of the Kaliningrad region – approx.ed.) He definitely won't be jealous, because these dogs help the fighters in Ladushkin in rehabilitation," Alexey Besprozvannykh wrote on his official Telegram channel.
Ita met with the participants of the special military operation in the spring of 2025. According to the hostess, at first the guys had a hard time making contact, there was no desire to communicate or even go outside.
"Our very first experience in rehabilitation after special military operation was with a former boxer with PTSD. The man was aggressive, he could even hit. He argued all the time, constantly sat in a wheelchair and did not want to get up. But, while working with Ita, he stopped resisting. Ita licked him very hard, and then two days later he got up and walked. Now we are receiving feedback and we know that the fighter lives in a social center and communication with the outside world has improved," says Elena Salnikova.
Ita is one of the 25 dogs that are kept at the Happy Husky House center. Elena Salnikova works with her not only in Ladushkin, but also actively helps children with autism and cerebral palsy. Special attention is paid to people who have suffered a stroke," said the journalists of Mediasphere TV. In the rehabilitation of such patients, Elena and Italy use adaptive walking and teach people how to fall properly. And then get up on your own. And the dog is the most important helper here.
"We have a stroke patient, Olga. She even wrote a book about how to live after a stroke, where a chapter is dedicated to our Ita. During our classes, I told Olga to put away the cane, hold on to Ita. And when she fell, she could hold onto the dog and get up without much fear. As a result, Olya began to leave the house more often while she walks with a cane, but she moves around the city, goes to rehab, and began to go on vacation with friends, which she could not afford before," Elena continues.
According to the owner of Ita, one of the main approaches in the rehabilitation of such patients is to redirect their fear, their losses to the dog. For example, when a dog loses a paw, it compensates for the load and does not notice that it has three paws. And a person's sense of loss is much stronger. A dog doesn't care what you look like or what's wrong with you. And when a person understands that you will still be loved and understood regardless of your injuries and illnesses, then the very therapeutic effect begins.
"We managed to take the guys on active walks to the bay, to the forest, where we learned about their fears and experiences. As a result, we get feedback from the guys that dogs really help them relax and accept themselves. After all, dogs teach you to trust," says Elena.
Photos from the personal archive of Elena Salnikova.