Policeman Damien Buckley’s anguish soothed by PTSD dog BJ
The nightmares began when former officer Damien Buckley was forced to shoot dead a Tinder stalker who had stabbed a female doctor 11 times. He thought he couldn’t live with his daily anguish — until he met his PTSD BJ.
NSW
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The words ring in former police officer Damien Buckley’s ears every day.
“I want you to kill me … what more do I have to do? Just do it,” the madman shouted at him.
In the hours before, Tinder stalker Paul Lambert had stabbed Port Macquarie doctor Angela Jay 11 times, doused her in petrol and left her for dead in her home.
family.”
Mr Buckley caught up with Lambert, 36, on the Pacific Highway at Bonville on the mid north coast on November 3, 2016, and despite repeated demands for the attacker to surrender his knife, he lunged at him.
The cop and his partner had no choice but to pull their triggers, with Buckley pumping a bullet into his chest with a police-issue Glock handgun.
Buckley’s fellow officer hit Lambert in the leg.
Dr Jay cried tears of relief when she heard police had caught her attackers.
“I am truly grateful to Damien and the other officers who caught Lambert, they are my heroes,” she said.
“Police have to go through so much, not just with this case, but they see so much death and some have to pay the price for saving others.
“I have a labrador myself, and it’s been really sweet having her around, she’s a real comfort.”
Buckley said he still struggled with memories of what happened.
“There is not a day, or second, that goes by that I don’t think about what happened. I close my eyes and he’s there,” Mr Buckley said from his Coffs Harbour home.
“He dropped the knife and died before he hit the ground. I ran to him and put my hands on his chest to try to stop the bleeding.
“I desperately wish there could have been a different outcome, that I could have swapped places with Paul and sent him home to his family.
“What happened ruined my life and cost me my job and almost my family.”
Flashbacks, recurring nightmares and thoughts of suicide left officials at the NSW Police Medical Discharge Unit with scant choice but to medically discharge the 31-year-old from the job he loved in December 2018.
“I was admitted in and out of psychiatric wards. I even had shock therapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy but nothing removed the psychological stress,” Mr Buckley said.
“I contemplated taking myself out but in the end I couldn’t do it to the kids. Then I met BJ — the Wonder Dog I call him — he is a PTSD labrador. He saved my life.”
PTSD Dogs Australia’s BJ, Billy Joe, acutely senses chemical changes in Mr Buckley and also wakes him at night during fitful dreams that revisit the night of the shooting.
“When the flashbacks strike, BJ licks my feet and gently paws at his face to wake me from nightmares,” he said.
“I now don’t like crowds but BJ has got my back and walks behind me to make space between me and anyone behind me so I don’t feel claustrophobic.
“When I scream out at night and grab my wife, I sometimes hurt her unknowingly, he jumps up on our bed, as if to say ‘hey, stop it’.
“I go everywhere with him now. He is my shadow. I’ve been given a life sentence but I might get through it with BJ.”
Dr Jay physically recovered from her injuries and became an advocate for domestic violence victims.
PTSD Dogs Australia ambassador Tamara Wrigley is leading appeals for more dogs, trainers and funding to cope with demand, especially for firefighters battling bushfires.
It takes 18 months to train an assistance dog at a cost of $40,000 per animal.
To donate, visit: https://au.gofundme.com/f/supporting-fire-fighters-mental-health
Originally published as Policeman Damien Buckley’s anguish soothed by PTSD dog BJ