Posted on 07/11/2009 11:13:13 AM PDT by Dysart
NEW YORK -- Like any other golden retriever seeking a treat, Tuesday nudged his owner's hand with his snout one recent morning and waited expectantly.
Luis Carlos Montalvan got up from a chair in his small Brooklyn apartment and walked to the kitchen. Tuesday followed close behind, eyes fixed on a white cabinet. The retriever sat alertly as Mr. Montalvan, an Iraq war veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, reached for a vial of pills, lined a half-dozen on the table and took them one by one
The dog had gotten what he wanted: When the last pill was swallowed, he got up and followed his master out of the kitchen, tail wagging.
Tuesday is a so-called psychiatric-service dog, a new generation of animals trained to help people whose suffering is not physical, but emotional. They are, effectively, Seeing Eye dogs for the mind.
Tuesday is with Mr. Montalvan at all hours. Taught to recognize changes in a person's breathing, perspiration or scent that can indicate an imminent panic attack, Tuesday can keep Mr. Montalvan buffered from crowds or deliver a calming nuzzle. Other dogs, typically golden retrievers, Labradors or Labrador retriever blends, are trained to wake masters from debilitating nightmares and to help patients differentiate between hallucinations and reality by barking if a real person is nearby.
"Tuesday is just extraordinarily empathetic," said Mr. Montalvan, 36 years old, a retired Army captain who received a Purple Heart for wounds he suffered in Iraq. "In bad moments, he'll lay his head on my leg, and it'll be like he's saying, 'You're OK. You're not alone.'"
Seeing Eye dogs were first systematically trained in Germany during World War I to aid blinded veterans. Today, psychiatric-service dogs are being trained to help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan battles.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Awww.
:o)
Read this in the WSJ this am, what a perfect way to start the day. Wonderful story!
Just read this in the Journal and it is amazing what these dogs can do to protect their PTSD masters. Also cool is the trainer’s story in there.
Awwwww .... these trained dogs are REALLY something else...
Thanks for the ping!!!!
Dogs are amazing. One of mine is a 20 pound Rat Terrier, a year and a half old.
Several weeks back I fell down in my chicken coop and couldn’t get up. Somehow little “Ruby” got into the cage and laid down in front of me, just watching me and waiting. She was so comforting that I was soon laughing at my dilemma.
Soon it got dark, and still she stayed with me. Finally, after nearly three hours, I figured out that I could probably crawl on hands and knees up to a level spot which I did, and miraculously I was able to stand up. I kept wondering, “where’s the candid camera?”
Good doggie! Too bad the libs will spin this into a story about widespread insanity among military veterans. PTSD is a serious issue for those afflicted. I hate to see their sacrifice used against them and their fellow vets, like it was with our Viet Nam vets. It’s refreshing to see open and honest discussion like we see here at FR.
It is amazing your dog knew her job was to watch you! I imagine if you went to sleep she would have barked that bark to wake you up! I am glad you are alright!
Thanks. It was almost worth the sprained ankle just to see her spirit. She’s the smartest dog I’ve ever met.
My only concern is the tailspin a soldier could go into once his dog dies. Their lifespans are relatively short, and of course they can go early. To place your total psychological health on one healthy dog seems tenuous to me.
Sadly, the need for trained service dogs to help our Veterans is far larger than the number of animals available. Here is the link to one group, training dogs to help our heroes:
http://www.neads.org/services_new/military_dog.shtml
More information on PTSD and service dogs:
http://www.webvet.com/main/article?id=2121
I have a Rat Terrier/Staffordshire Terrier Mix and he’s also highly intelligent. Dogged. Spirited. Kinda bossy. You should enjoy yours for a very long time as they tend to have excellent longevity and few health problems. Mine only suffers from seasonal skin allergies, and he’s pushing 13 now. Oh, and they excel at what they were bred for!
I would have imagined there are plenty of able dogs but fewer qualified trainers.
Yes, she's utterly dead serious about any task she's doing.....total professional at gopher and rat catching. She also helps round up the chickens at night, like a cattle dog.
>I would have imagined there are plenty of able dogs but fewer qualified trainers.<
There is shortage of both, actually. Many dogs for whatever reason, wash out of service dog programs. For example, pups must be carefully raised by dedicated fosters from babyhood (8 weeks or so) as kennel dogs wash out at a far higher rate. These pups then have to pass health screenings and the ones that do not pass are adopted out at that time to pet homes. Other dogs are simply too timid, or sound sensitive to make good service candidates.
Service dog trainers can only work with so many animals at one time, and most of them have years and years of training experience. They definitely are not a dime a dozen.
Pong
Very nice article. Thanks.
Ping
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