When he started looking towards retirement, Anthorr began searching for a new furry companion, not knowing he would soon find his perfect match in cat Bandit.
After bringing Bandit home, Anthorr noticed her personality started to shine through.
"She suddenly became a very independent and extremely intelligent cat," he said.
Around the same time, Anthorr was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from the work he had done with the Australian Border Force, as well as his volunteering with state emergency services.
"I was one of those guys that said, 'that's never going to happen to me. I'm resilient, I'm strong, I'm good ocker'," he said.
Anthorr said he took Bandit to a number of his psychiatry appointments early in the process, but it was soon recommended he get an assistance animal to help with his PTSD.
Anthorr was told an assistance animal would help him to feel grounded, be in the here and now, and also reduce anxiety attacks or other PTSD-related symptoms.
So, he began the journey to get Bandit registered as his assistance animal.
'She can tell when something's not right'
Anthorr said it was a difficult process because, in the ACT and New South Wales, registration programs were focused on dogs.
He said that under the Disability Discrimination Act, a service animal could be any animal but it must fulfil certain requirements to be recognised.
One requirement was passing a public access test.
In this test, the animal must prove it can be taken safely into public spaces, meaning it will not bite or scratch others, and be obedient, responding to cues and commands from its owner.
Bandit was also required to show she could administer targeted therapies when Anthorr needed them.
Anthorr trained her in deep pressure therapy, which is a common therapy used to calm the nervous system.
It requires someone to apply gentle pressure or compression to the body.
"She can tell when something's happening, when something's not quite right," Anthorr said.
"She might stretch up to me and place her paws on my leg and demand attention, and then she'll put pressure on me to do that."
Bandit is officially registered as an assistance cat in New South Wales, but Anthorr is still working towards her registration in the ACT.
While there are hundreds of assistance dogs, Bandit is one of only a few registered assistance cats in Australia, and Anthorr believes she was actually the first.
Assistance animals help to reduce loneliness, anxiety
Canberra Head to Health clinical director Vanessa Hamilton said assistance animals were growing in popularity to help with poor mental health.
She said making a connection with an animal helped people to regulate their feelings.
"It helps to reduce loneliness, and improve negative feelings like depression and anxiety," she said.
Ms Hamilton said often people who experienced PTSD did not want to talk about their trauma.
"Friends, families and workplaces will see that people start to change their behaviour, they might be less social, less outgoing, they might have more anger, they might start to drink more to manage the symptoms they're experiencing," she said.
By utilising an assistance animal for intervention purposes, Ms Hamilton said it could make the person feel less alone.
"It tends to help people to connect with others, and it helps to manage how they feel when they do get those negative feelings," she said.
Anthorr says Bandit now goes with him everywhere, including to folk festivals, live music venues, museums, shops and cafes.
Anthorr even documents some of their adventures on social media under the handle BanditandBoat.
He said Bandit did not only encourage him to get out of the house, but also helped him to start conversations in public.
"It's about making social connections and helping me to bridge that social gap as well," he said.
Anthorr said it was important for him to recognise that he was being impacted by PTSD, and he was grateful he went through the process to get Bandit registered.
"Sometimes facing up to the fact that you're vulnerable is hard, but you've got to do it."
