Title-K9’s for aiding PTSD veterans and their mental illnesses

How service dogs can play a huge role in battling the symptoms for PTSD veterans.

The focus of my essay will be on the impact that dogs have on our mental health and if they really help. I will also be looking into a more detail version of that which is based on PTSD vets and how service dogs can help them with their disorder. I wanted to take a view into if its better to get service dogs for more severe symptoms of depression or anxiety over just getting any dog.

SOURCES:

“How service dogs can help Veterans with PTSD” K9’s for warriors (April 17 2023)– https://news.va.gov/118407/how-service-dogs-can-help-veterans-with-ptsd/#:~:text=K9s%20For%20Warriors%20is%20the,of%20Veterans%20who%20commit%20suicide.

Background- This article will help me get the overall understanding of my topic for the essay as it provides basic information on how the dogs can help prevent vets from committing suicide from PTSD. It shows how a program by the name of K9s for warriors helps provide these service dogs for vets all over the country. These dogs have a big impact on them as it reduces the amount of medication they need and can help them be calm and get back with their families and enjoyment in life.

How I used it- I used this article in my definition rewrite as it helped me add a few key features that the definition argument was originally missing. It helped give me insights on suicide rates that vets have and medication drop after owning a k9.

“How pets can help us maintain mental health”A. Beetz, K. Uvnas-Moberg, H. Julius, K. Kotrschal (July 9 2012)– https://namica.org/blog/how-dogs-can-help-us-maintain-mental-health/#:~:text=How%20Dogs%20Can%20Help%20with,improve%20your%20all%2Daround%20health.

Background- This source will be key to the overall basis of my essay having to do with mental health and dogs. The article states that studies have shown that’s dogs can decrease the amount of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness in a person as they are always around you and with you. Petting dogs can have a big impact on your hormones as petting them can release serotonin which helps with your happiness.

How I used it- The article from Namibia.org has lots of valuable studies that will play a big part in my casual and rebuttal arguments as it truly goes into depth of how services affect the mind of a PTSD veteran and the psychological effects they have to a person with a mental illness.

“The Health and mood boosting benefits of pets” L.Robinson, J. Segal (October 2 2023)- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/mood-boosting-power-of-dogs.htm

Background- This article shows many studies which help to prove my essay correct with studies on pet owners are less likely to suffer depression. People with pets also have lower blood pressure and heart attack patients survive longer with a pet than without one.

How I used it- I used this article to help me with my causal argument as it speaks on how service dogs can boost dopamine and serotonin therefore boosting your overall happiness and lowering PTSD vets depression and suicidal thoughts.

“Dogs and PTSD” U.S. Department Of Veteran Affairs-https://www.ptsd.va.gov/gethelp/dogs_ptsd.asp

Background- This scholarly source focuses on the simple and basic facts of what a dog can do and its affects on someone with PTSD. They can help the owner get out of the house and feel fun and happiness again also reduce feelings of loneliness. It has a big effect on bringing out feelings of love.

How I used it- I also used this article to help beef up and boost my definition rewrite as I felt it had lots of basic valuable information for my topic. I didn’t cite much from the article but it overall just gave me a good backbone of information to use in my definition rewrite.

“The Impact of Service Dogs on Military Veterans and (Ex) First Aid Responders With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder” Front Psychiatry (May 4 2022)- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9114472/#:~:text=We%20found%20that%20veterans%20and,those%20with%20a%20companion%20dog.

Background- This work goes into the different types of pets and how each of them can help with ptsd but the dog is far superior as it has full affection towards its owner and always looks up to them. It also speaks on the different ways the dogs can be trained as. Like service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support animals.

How I used it- This article helped me prove a point in some of my arguments about why a dog is superior to other animals or other medications prescribed for PTSD.

“VA Study Shows Service Dogs Impact Veterans with PTSD Canine Companions® applauds expansion of VA insurance benefits for Veterans” J. Konopelski (March 17 2021)- https://www.proquest.com/docview/2501802103?accountid=13605&parentSessionId=EEyhmWEdF%2F2TDuaIT%2B8EwIiE25fuc2Sy0yezeZJKFbU%3D&pq-origsite=primo

Background- This short yet useful article consists of a small amount of words but says a lot of what exactly service dogs can help with and how they do it. It speaks on how the dogs are trained for specific tasks, tasks like turning on the lights at night which is a mitigating thing for PTSD vets. Also how they create a buffer for when a vet is in public places and might have anxiety or fear.

How I used it- I have used it in my casual argument as it serves a good purpose of explaining the tasks that vets suffer with completing like being in public or sleeping at night and on top of that shows how dogs can help with those issues.

“Assistance dogs for military veterans with PTSD: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-synthesis” National Library Of Medicine (September 21 2022)- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9491613/

Background- This is one of the best articles I managed to find in one of my conferences, it shows tons and tons of data and stats on how service dogs affect PTSD veterans and the different relationships the dog and human can form. It even shows research groups that have gather vets with PTSD and watched and recorded their symptom’s over each week to see if the PTSD symptoms got better.

How I used it- I used this article to help give me a better understanding on the relationships surrounding PTSD vets and service dogs and used it in my 3000 word paper to add onto the 3 arguments and provide a backbone of information on how these relationships affect PTSD symptoms.

“Side-Effects of antidepressants and what they can cause”Mind in the UK (September 2020) https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/antidepressants/side-effects-of-antidepressants/

Background- The article above was used to show how some PTSD medications can have bad side effects and may even worsen some of the symptoms over a long period of time.

How I used it- This article helped me back up my point on why medications aren’t always the best choice and how service dogs are a far better option. I used it in my rebuttal argument and it provided lots of information surrounding my opinion.

“More veterans with PTSD will soon get help from service dogs. Thank the ‘PAWS’ Act”S. O Niell (November 26 2021) https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/11/26/1045708726/more-veterans-with-ptsd-will-soon-get-help-from-service-dogs-thank-the-paws-act

Background- The article shows how different programs are starting to appear all over the country with helping veterans get service dogs. It’s very similar to the K9’s for Warriors page that also offers service dogs for veterans and explains the stories of other veterans that now own a service dog and how it helps them.

How I used it- I used this article in my research paper to help beef up and talk more on how many programs are staring to allow veterans to get service dogs in their battle with PSTD.

“Military Veterans and Their PTSD Service Dogs: Associations Between Training Methods, PTSD Severity, Dog Behavior, and the Human-Animal Bond” M. LaFollette, N. Ogata, K. Rodriguez, M. O’Haire (February 2019) ://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2019.00023/full

Background- This article helps provide a good explanation on the relationship with veterans and service dogs and dives deep into how these dogs are trained for helping PTSD.

How I used it- I used this article in my research paper as it has really good explanations on the association with service dogs and PTSD veterans and also the training for the dogs.