Service dogs have longed helped veterans with physical disabilities. But a new Veterans Administration study has been launched to determine the difference specially-trained service dogs can make for veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder in their life after service. Those veterans who have depended on their service dogs for years say the research is long overdue.
According to Breakthroughs, a Kera news blog, a nonprofit organization in Rockwall, Texas called Patriot PAWS has specialized in training service dogs to assist disabled veterans. Cheryl Woolnough, the group's training director, teaches her dogs 65 different commands, including how to open and close drawers, retrieve dropped items and even fetch the phone in case an emergency call is required.
The dogs Woolnough trains to help veterans with PTSD learn specific commands, like how to create a boundary of personal space around their owner by blocking people from approaching too closely both in front and behind, or even how to search a house for intruders.
"We teach them something called perimeter," Woolnough told Breakthroughs. "Where they go into the house and they check, they just touch all the doors and all the windows."
Terri Stringer, Patriot PAWS' assistant executive director, said that "We have 100 veterans on our waiting list waiting for dogs. So we have to get more dogs."
Service dogs trained for veterans with PTSD have already proven their worth. In Iowa, a Labrador retriever named Honor helped Wade Baker fight nightmares and delusions that had plagued him for more than 20 years. According to the Associated Press, for a time the dog was able to seriously calm Baker's anxiety. In the end Baker wasn't able to beat his PTSD – his battle ended in August, in a tragic confrontation with police – but Honor never stopped trying to help.
At Baker's funeral, Honor refused to leave his master's casket. Now he's essential in helping Baker's family to cope with his absence.
"Honor gave the boys their dad for more years," Michelle Baker said. "And that's an amazing gift."