A Soldier's Heart - The Evolution of Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD

The Evolution of Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress is not a new disability. Veterans participating in Wars since the beginning of time have probably suffered from PTSD.  In 1865 during the American Civil War, veterans who had what we now know to be PTSD, were diagnosed as having a “Soldiers’ Heart.” In WWI it was diagnosed as “Shell Shock” and in WWII, “Battle Fatigue.” In Vietnam it was called the “Vietnam Syndrome.” Sometimes it was even thought to be cowardice or that the veterans were just lazy. This condition wasn’t given the name Post Traumatic Stress Disorder until 1986 and even then it was misunderstood and thought it would go away in 6 months.  

A New Generation of War Heroes

Although we now know many veterans suffer from Post -Traumatic Stress Syndrome and how devastating it can be, it was not really brought to the attention of the World until the wounded veterans returned from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. This generation of war heroes was not afraid to talk about and seek help for not only their physical injuries but for the emotional injuries they sustained.

Service Dogs to Mitigate Physical Injuries

Thinking initially of their physical injuries such as amputations, spinal cord injuries, mobility issues, hearing loss and blindness due to traumatic brain injuries, Assistance Dogs International (ADI), and their worldwide members, were ready to help. The programs placed highly skilled service dogs to mitigate their physical disabilities. In 2006, under the leadership of its CEO Sheila O’Brien, NEADS a Service Dog Training Program in MA, placed the first service dog with a veteran who served in Afghanistan who was a bilateral amputee.

As more wounded veterans returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, they increasingly requested service dogs that could help mitigate not only their physical disabilities, but also their PTSD. In fact, many confessed that they had more problems coping with their PTSD than their physical disabilities. They were using the tasks their service dogs were trained to do to mitigate their physical disabilities, to mitigate their PTSD. 

Veterans like Chris, whose Service Dog Ruthie was trained to turn the lights on because of the serious physical injuries of an amputated arm and very badly damaged leg that he sustained in an IED attack, utilized his Service Dog’s skills to mitigate his PTSD. He was a sniper in Iraq and because of the PTSD he suffered from this experience, he was unable to enter a dark room. By turning on the lights, Ruthie made sure his PTSD did not keep him from entering.

Ronald, another Iraq Veteran with many physical disabilities was matched with a Service Dog Chip that helped him to walk, opened doors and pick up dropped items. His Service Dog would also help him up if he fell. While in training, Ron saw two trainers working with a Hearing Dog to wake a person up. Even though he did not have hearing loss he asked his trainer if Chip could be trained to gently wake him up as the medications he was on made him sleep through quieter alarms and the loudness of his “Big Ben” alarm clock triggered his PTSD. A clock radio was purchased and quiet gentle music was chosen for a wakeup call. Chip did the rest and Ronald reported he never worried about being jolted awake or being late again.

Finally, a physically Disabled Veteran named James said it best. When asked after a presentation why he only mentioned how his Service Dog Quincy helped him with his PTSD and not what he did to help with his physical disabilities, James responded “I can deal with my physical disabilities but my PTSD is with me every day!”

New Dogs for New Needs

As a result of these experiences, Assistance Dog training programs responded. In 2007 NEADS developed a pilot program for Service Dogs for PTSD and the first of these psychiatric service dogs was placed in 2009.

In 2010, an ADI Committee was formed to collect, consult and create “Best Practices” for the training and placement of Service dogs for Veterans with Military Related PTSD. After eight years of work this committee had developed the very first comprehensive standards for the placement of Psychiatric Service Dogs for veterans. On January 16, 2018 the PTSD Standards for the Training and Placement of Service Dogs with Veterans with Military Related PTSD, were ratified by the worldwide ADI membership.  In 2019, these standards were expanded to include service dog placement to help those with Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

The Need Grows

As the impacts and research surrounding the benefits of highly trained PTSD Service Dogs grows, so too does the need – with veterans and civilians alike.  The ADI Standards committee is currently developing standards for those with non-military PTSD and other mental health disabilities.

The statistics are staggering:

• 7 million Post-911 veterans with severe disabilities
• Veteran’s Affairs estimate that 20% to 30% of these individuals live with PTSD
• Nearly 18 service members take their own lives each day as a result of these internal scars
• Veterans die by suicide a rate 50% higher than the non-veteran population

There is Hope

In spite of the prevalence of PTSD within the VA population, relative to other conditions, existing treatments tend to be less effective than a service dog placement. Veteran’s Affairs recently released a five year study that reported that Veterans who had Service Dogs for PTSD showed a 3 point improvement on the PTSD Checklist for Military and that suicidal ideation and clinical depression were reduced.  

This has been a long journey for those with a “Soldier’s Heart” but now, thanks to the help of a well-trained Service Dog for PTSD, many “Soldiers’ Hearts” are beginning to heal.  

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Sheila O’Brien began her career in the Assistance Dog Industry in 1978 training Hearing Dogs. She created a canine test to assess the potential of shelter dogs for hearing dog work that is still used in the industry today. She became a Charter member of ADI and served four terms on the ADI Board of Directors as its 1^st Vice President. She presently is serving a 5^th term on the International Board and Chairs the Board of Directors for the North American Region. She serves on numerous committees and introduced many new concepts into the Assistance dog Industry. These achievements include: a voluntary “Program of Excellence” that that became the basis for the ADI accreditation standards, becoming an assessor, serving on the Accreditation Review Committee, leading a delegation to South Africa to further introduce the concept of assistance dogs, chairing the committees that created the standards for Prison Puppy Programs and military-related PTSD placements, and developing a service dog training program for wounded veterans, which developed into a Trauma Alert Dog program that also serviced veterans with PTSD. Presently she is working with the airlines as well as Senators and Congressmen to make the airlines accessible for all those who travel with Service Dogs. 

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