What has been your experience with your Service Dog/Companionship Dog?

There continues to be much anecdotal evidence regarding the benefits of service dogs for treating PTSD. Nevertheless, the VA does not provide service dogs for physical or mental health conditions, including PTSD. Sure, the VA is researching the benefits of canine therapy in treating PTSD, but Veterans must find organizations willing to support Veterans.

A golden-haired pup named Tuesday gleefully walked through the Performing Arts Center at Crafton Hills College as his human, Army veteran Luis Carlos Montalván, asked him to perform tasks for the hundreds in the audience.
“We’ve been together for six years. Oh boy, what a six years it has been. Never would I have imagined we’d be speaking here in front of you in Yucaipaa. It’s amazing,” he said.
Montalván had enlisted in the Army at the age of 17, and had his first tour of duty in the 1990s. Seventeen years later and after multiple combat tours in Iraq, Montalván’s military career came to a close. Leaving a life he had wanted to experience before he “could even remember” left him suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Montalván was introduced to Tuesday to help him cope with the realities of wartime and the events following. The two have become inseparable. So much so that Montalván wrote a memoir about his experiences with the pup in 2011 titled, “Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him.” The book became a New York Times best-seller.
“When people talk to Tuesday and me about joining the military, I tell them the truth — there’s good and there’s bad. (My opinion) is not from some bitter part of me or extraordinary biased thing, though it could be. In fact, we encourage people to serve.” Montalván spoke for close to an hour addressing a number of subjects while keeping things age appropriate as there were dozens of children in the audience.
After his speech, Montalván fielded questions from the audience and signed copies of “Until Tuesday” and his newest book, a children’s book, titled, “Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and His Service Dog.” Tuesday, with his reassuring looks and expressive eyes, was by Montalván’s side the entire presentation.
“Tuesday is my best friend,” Montalván said. “Tuesday helps me out every minute, every hour, every day because he’s a pack animal and he wants to see his pack doing well. If I’m not feeling OK, Tuesday will do something to make me feel better. And how great is a hug from your best friend that loves you unconditionally?” Read more: Veteran Luis Carlos Montalván talks PTSD, animal therapy with his dog Tuesday
Army Veteran Montalván is just one of a number of stories of how Veterans have found new meaning in caring for and the friendship of a dog to help him recover his life. Shouldn’t the VA wake-up and endorse canine therapy?

There continues to be much anecdotal evidence regarding the benefits of service dogs for treating PTSD. Nevertheless, the VA does not provide service dogs for physical or mental health conditions, including PTSD. Sure, the VA is researching the benefits of canine therapy in treating PTSD, but Veterans must find organizations willing to support Veterans. A golden-haired pup named Tuesday gleefully walked through the Performing Arts Center at Crafton Hills College as his human, Army veteran Luis Carlos Montalván, asked him to perform tasks for the hundreds in the audience. “We’ve been together for six years. Oh boy, what a six years it has been. Never would I have imagined we’d be speaking here in front of you in Yucaipaa. It’s amazing,” he said. Montalván had enlisted in the Army at the age of 17, and had his first tour of duty in the 1990s. Seventeen years later and after multiple combat tours in Iraq, Montalván’s military career came to a close. Leaving a life he had wanted to experience before he “could even remember” left him suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Montalván was introduced to Tuesday to help him cope with the realities of wartime and the events following. The two have become inseparable. So much so that Montalván wrote a memoir about his experiences with the pup in 2011 titled, “Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him.” The book became a New York Times best-seller. “When people talk to Tuesday and me about joining the military, I tell them the truth — there’s good and there’s bad. (My opinion) is not from some bitter part of me or extraordinary biased thing, though it could be. In fact, we encourage people to serve.” Montalván spoke for close to an hour addressing a number of subjects while keeping things age appropriate as there were dozens of children in the audience. After his speech, Montalván fielded questions from the audience and signed copies of “Until Tuesday” and his newest book, a children’s book, titled, “Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and His Service Dog.” Tuesday, with his reassuring looks and expressive eyes, was by Montalván’s side the entire presentation. “Tuesday is my best friend,” Montalván said. “Tuesday helps me out every minute, every hour, every day because he’s a pack animal and he wants to see his pack doing well. If I’m not feeling OK, Tuesday will do something to make me feel better. And how great is a hug from your best friend that loves you unconditionally?” Read more: Veteran Luis Carlos Montalván talks PTSD, animal therapy with his dog Tuesday Army Veteran Montalván is just one of a number of stories of how Veterans have found new meaning in caring for and the friendship of a dog to help him recover his life. Shouldn’t the VA wake-up and endorse canine therapy?

http://sftt.org/blog/news/dog-therapy-and-treating-ptsd/