Trained Dogs Can Help In Treating Veterans With PTSD

NPR: Veterans Say Trained Dogs Help With PTSD, But The VA Won't Pay

At a warehouse near Dallas, a black Lab named Papi tugs on a rope to open a fridge and passes his trainer a plastic water bottle with his mouth.

Service dogs are often trained to help veterans with physical disabilities. Now, a growing number are being trained to meet the demand from vets with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

Those dogs learn extra tricks — how to sweep a house for intruders, for example, so a veteran feels safe.

"We teach them something called perimeter, where they go into the house and they check, they just touch all the doors and all the windows," says Cheryl Woolnough, training director at Patriot PAWS, a nonprofit in Rockwall, Texas, that provides service dogs.

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CSN Editor: Everyone who has had a dog in his or her life knows how much of a support they can be during difficult times. But for veterans who are suffering PTSD .... their needs are different, and this is where a trained dog can provide a valuable service. Unfortunately .... dollars and cents are the priority here, and not taking of care of the patient.