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Countless veterans return from war with wounds deeper than the eye can see. Medication and
counseling is not always enough to help the veterans adjust back to life stateside and many
continue to suffer sometimes leading to drug abuse and even homelessness as a result. Studies
show canine companionship is a leading cure in the healing of PTSD cases and funding is
needed to match veterans with service dogs. Help by writing your local congressmen and
women to demand funding at the VA level to help these people. We owe it to them.
For many veterans, what happens at war does not stay at war. Scars go beyond skin
deep, physical injury, and anything visible. Many veterans are fighting an internal battle,
mentally and emotionally. Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome, or PTSD, is a very real and
help alleviate some of the emotional tolls? Would it not make sense, to investigate, initiate, and
fund projects spearheading help for those veterans? The solution: emotional support service
dogs. The issue: the VA will not fund or offer emotional support dogs to Veterans due to lack of
any exceptionally traumatic or life-threatening event.1 Those with PTSD face these traumas on
replay so much so that it interferes with everyday life at home, work, and in public. 2
PTSD has been diagnosed in veterans who endured traumatic events such as seeing dead
bodies, being shot at/ambushed, or witnessing someone they know being seriously
and/or fatally wounded.3 The United States military reports the highest percentage of veterans
suffering from PTSD now.4 (than at any other time in recent history?)
Without context, the percentages don’t really tell the story. Are there associated numbers?
Most people do not have an understanding of how many military members serve/have
served in these operations so the percentage of veterans being impacted by PTSD doesn’t
Because PTSD is not a visible war wound, it commonly goes undiagnosed. There is no checklist
of signs that point straight to the disorder. Every case of PTSD is unique to the individual and
the trauma experienced and not every veteran who experienced a trauma suffers from PTSD.
For those who do, the symptoms vary but can include confusion, flashbacks, severe anxiety,
depression, and restlessness.2 If left untreated, these symptoms can lead to substance
PTSD veterans are 3 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than veterans who do
PTSD service dogs are proven to help with many different aspects of depression, lower
blood pressure, offer companionship, be their handler’s senses. Service dogs can also calm
their handler in tense situations, wake their partner during night terrors, and protect their
handler in crowded spaces to combat hypervigilance. 7 These dogs help their handlers
reconnect to the world and offer them peace of mind, draw out personality, and develop
the handler’s ability to be assertive without aggression. So many success stories attribute
service dogs to being the reason a Veteran can go in and work/live in the civilian world. 8
Call to Action!
There is more than enough evidence to support the fact service dogs can help Veterans
suffering from PTSD acclimate back to life outside of the warzone. Write your local
congressmen and women today so they can allocate funding to the VA in order to get
overview/basics
Bagalman, Erin. (2013). Mental Disorders Among OEF/OIF Veterans Using VA Health Care: Facts
2
Retrieve From:http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41921.pdf.
overview/basics
4 How Common is PTSD. (2017, July 05). Retrieved March 15, 2018,
from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/ptsd-overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp
5 PTSD and Substance Abuse in Veterans. (2015, Aug 13). Retrieved March 21, 2018, from
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/problems/ptsd_substance_abuse_veterans.asp
6 PTSD and Suicide Risks in Veterans. (2017, Mar 28). Retrieved March 21, 2018 from
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/co-occurring/ptsd-suicide.asp
/mobilehttps://www.canines4hope.com/mobilehttps://www.canines4hope.com/
mobile
8 How Dogs Can Help Veterans Overcome PTSD (2012, July) Retrieved March 21, 2018 from
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-dogs-can-help-veterans-overcome-
ptsd-137582968/