Canine companions on boosting lives of PTSD Veterans

Majority of the world know and understand what PTSD is but most of them don’t know is how bad it affects the people who deal with it day to day. Something as simple as a ballon popping could trigger a PTSD vet and give them so called flashbacks to what they went through at a certain point in their life. Could there be something to fix those triggers and calm someone who suffers from this mental illness? Well there is an animal out there that is the number one helper with PTSD veterans and that is the dog, but more specifically a canine. Canines are more slender, long legged dogs with pointy ears and a lovable personality. German shepherds are one of the most common companions prescribed to vets with PTSD as they make the vet feel safe and comforted. They show their owner love and affection in return for a companion that watches them and takes care of them. These dogs do miracles to the veterans by helping them cope with their illness and move on in life.

VA studies have shown that approximately 20-30% of veterans live with PTSD and with that around 50% of those vets turn to suicide compared to non PTSD adults. According to the VA Suicide Prevention Annual Report, nearly 18 service members take their own lives each day. These numbers and statistics show the dangers of what PTSD can do to someone and how it makes simple daily tasks a complete struggle. The CEO of Canine Companions, Paige Mazzoni says that “Service dogs provide a significant therapeutic benefit for veterans with PTSD.” In providing these canines to veterans they can significantly reduce the suicide rate of PTSD patients and help them succeed with this fight against PTSD.

These canine are special as they are trained to be service dogs and are specifically trained to help vets with PTSD-mitigating tasks such as turning on lights, and creating a buffer especially in public places, and even help prevent nightmares. Although these tasks seem awful easy for the regular person, for a vet suffering from PTSD its like a battle in their minds. Dogs in general help adults battle anxiety, depression, and loneliness, so specially trained dogs for PTSD vets are even more trained to help their owner with almost anything they struggle with. Lots of PTSd vets suffer from nightmares and often get very little sleep which then affects how they think even more and makes them feel more inclined to commit suicide as it affects their mind and thinking. Canines drastically help benefit veterans sleep as it makes the vets feel loved and having someone by their side helps with nightmares and panic attacks.

PTSD and its affects on ones mind very much can guide a person to commit suicide to end the struggle of battling with PTSD. Many vets don’t know where to get help and are scared to talk to others about their problems which makes their battle with it even worse. Nowadays more and more VA clinics are offering help to the vets and canines are just one of the many solutions to help combat PTSD. Canines are loyal and will always stick by their owners side taking away that feeling of loneliness and anxiety vets may face. The canine also gives the veterans activities to do like taking a walk or napping together on the couch even going to the dog park helps fulfill happiness in both the dog and the vet. These studies showing the effects of canines and PTSD vets offer a great explanation as to why a vet should really consider getting a trained dog and their quality of life will skyrocket.

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