Longtime Temecula rehab center turns to animals

By: NICOLE SACK - The Californian | Sunday, December 9, 2007 9:51 PM PST ∞

TEMECULA - Humans have been using domesticated animals to assist them for centuries. But now, four- and two-legged creatures of the animal kingdom are being put to use to help tackle modern issues of chemical dependencies at one Temecula rehabilitation facility.

Rocky and Debbie Hill have offered intensive out-patient treatment for addictions in Temecula for 21 years through the Hill Alcohol & Drug Treatment Center. But three months ago, the Hill began giving their patients the opportunity to live in a rural setting at Three Hills Ranch while they receive daily counseling for their addictions.

Besides the skills provided by their team of chemical dependency professionals, the Hill is tapping into the therapeutic qualities of horses, chickens, pigs and other animals in striving to guide patients into a sober lifestyle.

Big Family

Pulling into the Three Hills Ranch is similar to arriving at a family gathering. There is a sense of ease as clients find comfortable seats or roam among the animals. In mid-November, there were four patients staying at the ranch as part of their full-immersion therapy. The house has capacity for nine clients.

Three Hills Ranch is located on a 2 1/2 acre parcel in Wine Country. The private, gated residence features a pool, spa, chicken coop, barn, turtle pond and garden. The animals play an important role at the ranch as they offer the residents love, compassion and a sense of responsibility in their own way, said Rocky Hill. The animal collection includes quarter horses, miniature horses, dogs, goats, chickens, ducks and a potbelly pig.

"No formal therapy happens at the house. This is simply a place for them to reside during their treatments and a place for them to interact with the animals," Hill said. "Our clients typically receive six to seven hours of formal therapy each day at the offices. By the time they get back here, they are emotionally exhausted."

The ranch house is actually the Hills' home, where they have lived since 1986. Now, the family rents a home as their residence, so their patients can live and recuperate at their house.

Hill said the goal of the ranch is to provide a place that reminds residents of "home" as they begin their journey to a renewed life. Besides the support offered by his staff, Hill said the animals at the ranch are able to provide unconditional love to the clients.

"Drug and alcohol addicts have a natural affinity toward animals," he said. "They are nonjudgmental creatures that are able to give unconditional love and affection. The presence of the animals offers calmness and healing - at the same time teaching responsibility to those who care for them."

The patients brush and clean the horses, though they do not ride them. However, clients do get to see the horses in action. When Erin Hill, 24, the daughter of the Hills, is not working with house guests, she practices her equestrian skills at the ranch in preparation for rodeo competitions.

"We emphasize freedom through individual responsibility, instead of waiting for someone else to make us happy," Hill said.

Talk to the animals

Jackie, a Temecula resident who, like other patients agreed to be identified only by a pseudonym or first name, was 16 days sober on Nov. 19. A self-described "housewife alcoholic," she said she would typically begin drinking first thing in the morning and keep drinking through the day, until she passed out at night, a routine she repeated day after day.

The 53-year-old said she qualified for treatment at high-end centers such as Promises in Malibu, but she wanted a local support system.

"It's so different from a hospital setting," she said. "There is always a person to listen to you. It's like being in a cocoon of affection. Nothing stressful happens at the house. We make our beds, feed the chickens. It is a relaxing thing. I'm very attached to those chickens. They're my girls."

She said besides having the animals to help her through her own recovery, the small zoo eases the rehabilitation experience for her family members.

"It's nice to have the animals around when we have family visits," she said. "It can be really awkward sometimes, and you feel like you have nothing to talk about with them. They help to break the ice."

Among the first clients to live at the ranch house was Steve, 65, of Temecula. He was also the person to give the name of "Daisy" to the farm's potbelly pig.

"I'm not a 'pig' person. It's not so much the pig at all, it's the cuteness that I'm drawn to," Steve said.

Steve, who is now an outpatient still attending counseling treatments, said he saw the benefits of the ranch stay in his recovery program.

"It's close to home, but you don't have the stress of home. There is no one nagging you to mow the lawn," he said.

Another of the original residents at the ranch was Lori, 47, who lives in Temecula. She said that, during her stay, the animals offered her extra comfort during the beginning of her treatment.

"I would go out there and talk to the horses or journal with the pig and chat with the dog," said Lori, 47. "It was just something that put me at ease."

Five counselors work at the treatment center office, 42145 Lyndie Lane in Temecula, and there are three house managers at the ranch. The house managers are called "Kokuas," a Polynesian word for helper - something the Hills learned when they lived in Hawaii.

"What we are trying to do here is to give back love," said Bob, 53, one of the house Kokuas, who has been involved with rehabilitation clinics since 1973. "I don't care if it is a $20,000; $40,000 or a $0 recovery program, it will never work until you introduce love."

Lori P. of Temecula, 46, had been battling with addiction since she was a teenager. She said she was able to stay sober for a nine-year span - through the birth of her daughter, now 6; her Temecula house burning down and the death of her father.

But things began to unravel for her. An occasional glass of wine morphed into a nightly "fish bowl" of wine. The wine then turned to vodka, and the problems started coming. She received a DUI, she was arrested for being drunk in public and she began to consider suicide. Lori said the only thing that she did, which was right, was to call the Hills.

"Being with the Hills is like being with a family," she said describing the night she called the Hill office saying she wanted to kill herself. They in turn sent sheriff's deputies to her house to intervene.

"They know what it is like to go through hell and back. They know what you are going through. They have helped so many people in this valley - they just have a way of embracing and loving you."

Lori, who said she has been in-and-out of more than a dozen rehabilitation facilities in her life, said there is a marked difference in the Hill's approach. She has been recovering since she checked back into the program on October 15.

"There is something magical about this place; God has wrapped his arms around this house," she said.

Lori had begun to bond with one of the dogs, Chucky, who roams the ranch. She said the little brown dog, which has the same name as her father, allowed her to finally get in touch with her grief - something she couldn't do on her own.

"You sometimes ask yourself, 'When are my problems going to end?' Well, they are not going to end, but I know my drinking can," she said.

For information about Three Hills Ranch or the Hill Alcohol & Drug Treatment Center call (951) 676-8241 or visit www.hillrecovery.com.