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Dogs Trained to Heal Iraq Vets' Mental Scars
'Psychiatric service' pooches respond to PTSD sufferers' needs
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Jul 11, 09 10:28 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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The golden retriever nuzzles his master as though he wants a treat, trots into the kitchen, and waits patiently. His master walks over and, under the pet’s watchful gaze, takes a series of pills. The dog wags his tail with approval. He is a psychiatric-service dog, part of a new generation of service animals designed to help those with mental illness—including, most recently, Iraq and Afghan war veterans with PTSD, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The dogs are trained by prisoners in the Puppies Behind Bars program. They learn to monitor their masters’ breathing, perspiration, scent, and other signals of oncoming panic attacks. They can wake their masters during nightmares, or create space for them in a crowd. “In bad moments, he’ll lay his head on my leg,” says one veteran. “It’ll be like he’s saying, ‘You’re OK. You’re not alone.'”