Meet Archie, ARC’s first ‘chief comfort officer’

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

LOUISA — Addiction Recovery Care has hired its first “chief comfort officer,” Archie, who just so happens to be a puppy.

As part of his job, Archie will visit ARC’s facilities and provide comfort to those battling addiction and past traumas.

ARC, headquartered in Louisa, said in a release that two women near the St. Louis area donated the dog to ARC. Betty Jean Clark and Christine Brandt formed Mystic Kasmir Goldie’s together in 2021, and when they learned about ARC, they knew their pups could help clients heal from trauma and better their odds at discovering recovery.

Archie will undergo six to nine months of training at Canines 4 Comfort in Illinois, where he will learn to become a therapy dog and live as a member of ARC’s chief of staff’s family, the release said.

Post-traumatic stress (PTS) and substance use disorder often co-occur after a traumatic event. Research shows that people with PTS are more at-risk for substance use disorders, with 27.9 percent of women and 51.9 percent of men with lifetime PTS also experiencing SUD. And for those pursuing recovery from SUD, trauma can make sustained recovery more challenging, the release said.

ARC Chief of Staff Lawrence Vinson said in the release that the people they serve are fighting a lot of battles they don’t want to talk about related to traumas and are working through the chains of addiction, adding that it might be easier to confide in the dog.