. Pictured is Army veteran Brad Schwarz with his service dog, Panzer.
It’s
International Assistance Dog Week,
a time to recognize the dogs that help humans with their disabilities
and limitations — but not all service dogs are guide dogs or canines
trained to assist with physical disabilities.
There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that service dogs help veterans
cope with PTSD, but research lags and even some service-dog experts
remain skeptical.
There have been no double-blind, randomized controlled trials on the
benefits of service dog and PTSD patients, and there are no widely
accepted standards for training dogs to alleviate PTSD symptoms.
Researchers at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Fla., are
conducting the first study that looks at benefits of pairing veterans
with PTSD with specially trained dogs. Congress recommended the
three-year study, permitting the Department of Veterans Affairs to match
as many as 200 veterans with dogs, but only 17 participants are
currently enrolled.
Three service dog organizations partnered with the hospital to conduct the study, but
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs
(GAMSD) is the only association still involved in the research. The
organization trains PTSD service dogs to perform such tasks as awakening
clients from nightmares and reminding them to take medication.
Carol Borden, GAMSD’s executive director, says she’s seen dramatic
improvements in veterans’ lives after they’ve been matched with dogs.
"The results are very immediate. They’re very quick. It’s not a cure,
but they are able to manage their challenges much better than they have
in years,” Borden told
NBC News.
Demand for PTSD service dogs is high, according to Borden, who says
that most recipients spend four years on her organization’s waiting
list.
It’s estimated that 13 to 20 percent of the more than 2.6 million
Americans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001 have or could
develop PTSD.
But unlike service dogs for people with more obvious physical
disabilities, there’s a gray area regarding who can have a dog accompany
them into certain places. The American Disabilities Act requires
businesses to allow people with disabilities to enter with service
animals, but PTSD-trained dogs are often considered therapy dogs under
the ADA. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional
support
do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
Service dogs assist disabled people with specific tasks like opening
doors and pulling wheelchairs. Therapy dogs, on the other hand, provide
comfort, motivation and emotional support. With proper documentation
they can often be taken onto planes and other spaces where animals
aren’t usually allowed.
Although PTSD service dogs are trained to respond to certain cues, such
as nudging an owner into a petting session if he exhibits panic attack
symptoms, some people are skeptical about the idea that a dog can assist
with a so-called invisible disability.
However, there’s evidence that interacting with animals produces biochemical changes in some people’s brains.
Research shows that when people focus on petting a dog, it can increase
oxytocin, a chemical that quiets the brain’s fear response. Caring for a
pet also helps people become more secure and self-sufficient, according
to
Hal Herzog, a psychology professor at Western Carolina University.
Training service dogs can also be a form of therapy, according to Rick Yount, founder of
Warrior Canine Connection,
an organization that has PTSD patients train service dogs. After
completing a 2008 training program at a veteran’s hospital, many
participants reported lower stress levels, decreased depression, better
impulse control and improved sleep.
Yount says that it might be most effective for veterans with PTSD to train a service dog before receiving one themselves.
"They have to convince the dog the world is a safe place, rather than
letting the dog prove to them that the world is a safe place,” he told
MSNBC.
