The Human-Canine Alliance (TH-CA)

Rescue Dogs: An Untapped Solution to America's Mental Health Crisis

• Stacie J. King • Season 1 • Episode 7

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In this Real Life Business episode of The Human-Canine Alliance Podcast, Stacie connects powerful data points to show that rescue dogs are more than just pets—they’re an undervalued asset in addressing America’s mental health crisis.

With 60 million adults struggling with mental illness, suicide rates at an all time high, and wait times for professional care stretching up to six months, what if doctors could prescribe a dog—trained for an individual’s specific needs—before reaching for a pill?

Stacie breaks down how dogs offer natural, side-effect-free benefits like social connection, routine, and emotional support, challenging the status quo of mental health treatment. 

Tune-in to learn how THCA aims to create a pathway to transform two industries—mental health and dog rescue—while improving countless lives in the process. 

Join the movement in shifting society from a Human-Pill Bond to a Human-Canine Bond.

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 Hi everyone. This is Stacie with The Human-Canine Alliance, and this is another Real Life Business episode, which is the live documentary portion of our podcast. And today we're connecting even more dots that prove rescue dogs hold undeniable value in society. 

Here's the thing. I've said this before, and maybe it's my marketing background, but in my opinion in the US, if something doesn't have value, a current value, like what's in it for me right now, value, it gets overlooked.

And that's why The Human-Canine Alliance is redefining rescue dogs as more than just pets. They have the ability to become an incredible asset in curbing the growing mental health problems we have in America today.

And I am so excited because I have more supporting data connecting these dots. Let's get started.

Okay, so let's start by defining THCAs, The Human-Canine Alliance's niche of creating value for dogs in society. 

what do I mean by niche? A market niche is a specific segment of a larger market with unique needs, preferences, or characteristics, often targeted by businesses with specialized products or services, simple enough, right? 

So at THCA, our product, air quotes around product, is the idea that rescue dogs can be specially trained to better assist with mental health problems. 

 And why? Why are we doing this? Because our current status quo looks like this.

One in five US adults, almost 60 million Americans struggle with mental illness. That is more than the entire populations of California and Texas combined. 

70% of those 60 million people who struggle with mental illness are relying on medication,

and 50% of those 60 million people aren't receiving any treatment at all for a variety of reasons. 

Regardless of those who are receiving medication and those who are receiving no treatment at all, long-term solutions seem to be completely out of reach.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of really good answers for mental health problems out there that are consistent. 

And one other thing to sum up the status quo of America today, you guys, suicide is now the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 34. Our youth, our young people, 49,000 lives were lost in 2022, which is the highest number that's ever been recorded according to the CDC.

 

And okay, that's not even the worst of it. You want to know some of the hidden costs, the ones that we as individual citizens of America probably don't see on a day to day. 

 $1 trillion is lost every year in US workforce productivity due to depression and anxiety, and that is from the World Health Organization. 

And despite spending $282 billion every year on mental health treatment, Americans still see increasing suicide rates and higher rates of mass violence and we have an average wait time of six months for professional mental healthcare, which means there's at least a six-month gap between the time someone finally says, you know what?

I feel like I need to get help. I need to reach outside of what my current support system is and I need to find some professional help and. I don't know about you, but that's not the first step I have ever taken. 

When people recognize that they have a problem, that's not the first time they've had the problem. Right? So when someone finally decides they're ready to get help, and then you tell them, Hey, sure we can help you. Six months from now we get you an appointment. What? What! That is seriously what we're doing here in America today.

I mean that just is sadly, the perfect transition into my last stat that I have right now, which is that 80% of mass shooters have a documented history of untreated or mismanaged mental illness. And then on top of that, our firearm homicide rate, our gun homicide rate is 25 times higher. 25 times higher than that of other developed countries.

 

 I mean, everyone listening. I know I say you guys a lot. Sorry, that's my New York coming out. I don't, I don't mean anything in terms of gender there. That's a totally a phrase.

I cannot understand how and why more people have not connected. Oh, well that's not true. All the dots have been connected. Why are we not doing more about it? Why are we not looking outside of the box? Why are we still trying to do what I'm sure many of us have learned over time is what is considered to be insanity, doing the same thing over and over and over, and expecting different results.

What are we doing here in America? Why do we continue to just create more drugs? Why are we not looking at alternate options? Why? Why do we shake our heads at every natural or organic option that is out there? 

  

Okay, so back to the business portion of The Human-Canine Alliance and our niche. Our target audience is the 60 million people diagnosed with a mental health condition in America, but the idea is truly to challenge the status quo and prove tangible value. What's in it for me right now? value for canines in our society today. 

Our overall goal at The Human-Canine Alliance is to create a pathway for dogs to become an alternative to prescription pill methods for mental health solutions and turn America's Human-Pill Bond into a Human-Canine Bond. 

Okay, so maybe it all sounds a little visionary. I get that. But after hearing our current status quo, I mean. Don't you have a little interest in learning about some alternate options that may result in a better status quo in the future? I know I did, that's why I'm here today, right? 

That's the reason I'm here. So, hear me out. listen to this quick list of benefits that we don't even really consider that dogs naturally offer. These are benefits. These are things that we could really use in our society today if we were paying attention to the fact that we could use them. So, I thought it would be helpful to lay them out for you here as well.

Okay. Number one, dogs are a natural. Drug free, long-lasting alternative. They come with no side effects. They create no addictions, and you don't have to remember to take a pill every day. And Nobody has to train a dog to be natural and drug free and long lasting. Right?

Number two, they're built for social connection. Dogs and people are both social creatures, just naturally in general. We are social creatures, and in addition to reducing isolation and loneliness, dogs naturally facilitate human to human interaction. We all know this.

If we have owned a dog, your dog will make a point of. Finding another dog and you will then either have to interact with that other dog owner, and be like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Or you end up being like, oh my gosh, your dog is so cute. Right? You end up interacting with them in one way or another, which is something you would not have done if your dog was not there.

Right? so dog owners experience more social engagement conversations and community connection then. Non dog owners. Again, just a, a natural benefit. Maybe you could say a side effect of having a dog, right? 

They offer a physical health boost. Again, maybe you could say another side effect of having a dog. They encourage regular movement, lower blood pressure, and improve cardiovascular health, and none of that is just because they're in the room. All of that is because as a dog owner. You know that they get really, really antsy if they don't get out and play, or if they don't get out and get a little bit of a walk-in, or if they don't get out and get a car ride, they need to have activity in their life too.

 If you don't have activity in your life and they don't have activity in their life, they will let you know it, and they will bother the heck out of you. So they kind of force you to get up and go, right? They kind of force you, like, even if I don't feel like doing something, I feel like I have to go do something because he's been bored all day.

 You know, things you would not do if that dog did not exist, if that dog was not there in your life. 

We'll get into this more later, but the science shows that interacting with dogs lower cortisol levels and they boost oxytocin levels.

And that they also offer routine and purpose. caring for a dog provides a sense of responsibility, structure, motivation, which are all key elements in mental wellbeing.

And then lastly, dogs don't criticize stigmatize or gaslight. They simply offer loyalty, comfort, and presence, and, anybody who needs assistance is reliant on not only another human being's capabilities to help them, but also their personality, to give them grace and to offer them patience because they are someone who may just need a little extra help in certain places. And not everyone has that kind of grace or has that kind of patience.  

Alright, let's take a break and when we return, I have stats to back up all of those canine benefits that I just dropped on you. See you in a few.

  

Hey. Hey. Thanks for listening to the commercial break and not skipping through. 

If you are a small business looking for some inexpensive exposure, head on over to Buy Me a Coffee and you can buy this ad space for a pretty inexpensive price. We'll see you soon. 

  

hello. Hello. Thanks for sticking around. Welcome back. This is The Human-Canine Alliance, and I am your host, Stacie. 

Before the break, we talked about a ton of natural benefits that dogs can and do have on society when given the opportunity, but how does any of that connect to mental health? Well, here we go. I've got stats for you.

Okay. The first stat I have for you is veterans related. Veterans with service dogs have 66% lower odds of a P-T-S-D diagnosis compared to those who are on a wait list. 

So basically, they have 66% lower odds of having A-P-T-S-D diagnosis if they had a service dog in the meantime of waiting for their doctor's appointment. Holy crap. Right?

And then after three months of a veteran having a service dog, they have reported significantly lower PTSD symptoms, anxiety and depression. So again, those two stats were very specific to veterans.

But that doesn't mean it does it, it can't apply to other people with PTSD symptoms, anxiety and depression, right? It just means that the studies and the reports have only really been done on veterans or reported on veterans. 

 Therapy dogs have been shown to significantly reduce loneliness and social isolation in older adults and individuals with depression.

And this stat refers back to one of the natural benefits I spoke about earlier, which was how dogs foster social interaction, they actually have a number on this. Dog owners are 60% more likely to engage in regular social interactions and foster stronger community connections. There's an actual number on it. 

It definitely seems like dog owners are more likely to be more social, and that might not be their true personality. That might actually be something that their dog is pulling out of them a little bit. I never really considered that.

Okay, so I tapped into this a little bit earlier, but just to go a little bit further. Petting a dog for just 10 minutes can lower cortisol levels, which are our stress levels, increase our oxytocin levels and our serotonin levels, which are relaxation and happy levels. That is significant for people with PTSD, anxiety and depression.

And targeting our mental health crisis. Just a little bit more with some of these statistics, I wanted to take a look at medication intake because we're all aware that while you might be taking a pill for pain and it's helping with the pain, or it's stopping the pain, a lot of these pills are also creating long-term side effects, addictions, and many other problems in our society, which is causing a lot of the breakdown in our society. 

Looking at medication intake and looking at recent studies, individuals with PTSD when paired with a service dog have reported a 40% reduction in medication usage.

 In a hospital study, patients that were exposed to therapy dogs experienced a 35% reduction in anxiety and they were less likely to require opioid pain meds compared to those receiving usual care.

And then this is the last stat I have for you today, and this as a dog owner made me so happy to learn. Dog owners have a lower risk of death, lower blood pressure levels, and improved responses to stress.

  

 we're all aware of how bad mental illness can get. I mentioned earlier that 80% of mass shooters were dealing with an unmanaged mental health problem, and likely they had been for many years. 

 I also mentioned that the number two killer in our youth in America is suicide. We're talking 10- to 34-year-olds. Clearly, we are not doing enough as a society to help our young people. If self-infliction is the second most common form of death in our society. 

This is why we are challenging the status quo in mental healthcare by suggesting a shift from America's Human-Pill Bond to a Human-Canine Bond.  

What if doctors could prescribe a dog trained for a person's specific needs before they prescribed a pill? What if?  

In my eyes, in The Human-Canine Alliance's, eyes, we can transform two industries, the mental health industry and the rescue dog industry, and countless lives in the process by taking another look at what we're currently doing, taking a step back and saying, how could we do this different 

Number one. We start with science-based technology, a compatibility driven matchmaking app that pairs humans and rescue dogs using AI and data analytics to optimize the adoption success.

 

Number two, we have built in crowdfunding. It's a program called Sponsor A Match, which empowers community support, reduces financial barriers, and significantly increases adoption opportunities. 

 

Number three, we have tailored training. So once the matches are made in that compatibility driven matchmaking app, the idea is that tailored training will be prioritized by aligning human needs with canine characteristics. 

Three to five skills will be identified, and the dog has been matched knowing they have the characteristics and the demeanor to be taught these skill sets. They will be trained for specific skills that those human needs them to do.   

And I don't know exactly how accurate these numbers are. However, I have seen numbers out there that say that service dog training can cost up to $50,000. when I did some research on what custom training could cost and limited it to three to five skills. The average cost out there, they said five to $15,000 for a trained dog to have custom skills, not needing the full range of service dog skills. 

So that is also really exciting information too, because if we can work in a solution for some people that costs five to $15,000, not per year, per the lifetime of a dog. That could be five years, 10 years, 15 years. The point is if it's five to $15,000 per dog, not per year, per person. That's a significant reduction in cost per person to better maintain their mental health.   

We don't need full on service dogs for every human out there, but we do need custom trained dogs for many humans out there. Everybody has custom needs.   

So what if we bridge that gap?   

Going back to dogs naturally being a long-lasting solution that don't bring side effects and addictions along with them. 

Am I connecting the dots here for you?

 It just makes so much sense in my mind to at least give dogs the opportunity to take a crack at our mental health crisis here in America. Give them a chance to see if they can curb it just a little bit.

What harm do we have in investing money and time into an alternative solution to our mental health crisis, which starts with a compatibility driven matchmaking app, uses state of the art technology, and AI, and data analytics to create the best match possible between human and canine, and then go one step above that and truly train that canine to be a perfect fit for that human.

What harm would we have in society in trying that as an option versus just continuing down the road of more pills of more manmade medicine that just continues to help us spiral out of control.

So that is the vision of The Human-Canine Alliance in a nutshell. And as we continue to roll this ball up the hill of building a business from scratch and challenging the status quo, we are really starting to uncover the niche The Human-Canine Alliance has to offer. 

 

So that said, I'm going move on to the last portion of our Real Life Business episode, and we're going discuss our most recent business activities. 

Since the last Real Life Business episode, I have established my funding model for The Human-Canine Alliance. Originally, I wasn't really sure if I was going go full non-profit or if it was also going have a for-profit entity. And I have learned since then that you can do both. So we are going forward with a hybrid funding model.

And what that means is we are combining both nonprofit and for-profit revenue streams, and that means that once we are established as a nonprofit, we can receive grants, donations, and sponsorships.

And then also as a for-profit company, we can generate income through services, products, or business ventures that are meant to support the nonprofit. 

And so, going along those lines, I have registered The Human-Canine Alliance as a nonprofit in the state of California that does not make us federally recognized as a 5 0 1 C3.

 That can actually take up to six months. I haven't even started the process yet. but basically, what that means is we're not tax exempt. So, I have learned, I have to operate as if I am a federally recognized nonprofit.

And for the for-profit side, we are currently a sole proprietorship. However, I do intend to move into the LLC space. It just costs money. And so therefore, we'll do that in the future once we have the funds for it. 

Okay, so what does that really mean? It basically means if we receive any funds, they have to be designated accordingly, very clearly from the get-go, making sure people understand, if they donate money, or if they invest in The Human-Canine Alliance, they understand where that money is going. 

And so, for example, this is another checkbox in the list of business things that I have done for The Human-Canine Alliance in the last several weeks.

I got the podcast up on Buy Me a Coffee and in doing so, I of course asked Chat GPT, is there anything I need to do here, in terms of the hybrid funding model? 

And so it was like, you have to put up a disclaimer saying that funds will exclusively support the marketing and awareness of The Human-Canine Alliance's sole proprietorship, which operates the podcast platform and eventually the app. And that these funds will not be used for activities of The Human-Canine Alliance's, California registered non-profit public benefit corporation. 

And then in the last few weeks I have also started the process of getting The Human-Canine Alliance in front of investors, and through my research I have learned that the best investors are probably going be angel investors and impact investors who are looking to invest in projects or organizations or businesses that are seeking to have a social impact, have a community impact, and in doing so, I learned that I need a pitch deck. 

And so I've been building the pitch deck for The Human-Canine Alliance. And to be honest with you, I pulled a lot of the statistics and information from the pitch deck today in this episode.

  

In my next episode, I will be diving into what mental health really is and illustrating what these struggles really look like for families in America. Don't forget to click follow from wherever you're listening right now so you don't miss it.

Also be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. And now you can support us on Buy Me a Coffee if you're so inclined.  

Again, I am Stacie and thank you for tuning in to The Human-Canine Alliance Real Life Business series. I hope you continue to listen.