Many believe the signs of Post-Traumatic Stress
(PTS) are not visible; for the most part they are true however it is because
those who are suffering with PTS do all they can to hide it or control it
because they feel it is a weakness or that they will be viewed upon as someone
with a mental disorder. However, PTS is
not a mental disorder. PTS is a disorder that develops when an
individual has experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event that is not
within the normalcy of an everyday occurrence, such as our veterans going to
war. Unless one is in their shoes
we cannot know what they have experienced or how they are experiencing the
PTS. But, we can help them but
understanding the best we can, be patient with them, and provide them with a
comfort such as a canine companion. Not
to say, a loved one, spouse or child is not a comfort to a veteran however a
canine comfort is someone that can predict, concentrate, and have that
connection that a human cannot.
As for the signs of
PTS, yes, there are those signs – such as pacing, sweaty palms, nervousness,
huffing, breathing hard, sweating, and just uneasiness to name a few. Not to say all veterans will display these
signs but in general those are some symptoms.
I am no doctor, nurse, psychiatrist or such however I am a spouse of a
veteran with severe PTS who has been in/ out of several different clinics,
Veteran’s Administration facilities and have seen other veterans as well as
have seen how my own spouse reacts to situations when he becomes stress, uneasy
or in a predicament that sets off his PTS.
His saving grace as well as mine has been a twelve pound angel, a pug, and
his now service dog.
Within him constantly
feeling uneasy and having anxiety/panic attacks he was officially diagnosed
with PTS and prescribed medication. The
medication made things worse because he is unable to take medication because
his body is not tolerant of medications so with no other avenues at that time
he became home bound, could not go to his daughter’s school events, could not
travel to see his boys and wasn’t even able to go shopping. Even when he was left at home it would only
be a matter of time before he was calling to see when I was returning, how much
longer, or such to where we could not spend any time out of the home. Then one day we visited a no-kill shelter
with him to see about getting a dog to keep him company so at least we can run
errands and get things done without him having panic/anxiety attacks while we
were gone. We found this little
lethargic pug that had protruding eyes, which we were informed if not corrected
she would lose her eye sight. There was
no doubt she was the one for us.
She was automatically enrolled in obedience classes
and started the beginner class within a few weeks of coming home. It was difficult at first because of her
eyesight but to show her the treats we chose a bigger treat to get her to sit,
stay or down and etc. but fed her the smaller treat. She completed the Beginner Obedience class
very well and continued onto Intermediate Obedience class, which again she did
extremely well. We took a break before
entering the Advance Obedience class to have her eyes taken care off. Her surgery went fine and within two weeks,
she was able to close her eyes and sleep full nights. We continued onto Advance Obedience training
in which again she did well. So all the
obedience training was completed and her eyes were corrected. We were talking with the trainer when he
realized my husband has a hearing problem yet notice his pacing and uneasiness
issues also, so it was mentioned about Pia Pia becoming a hearing service dog
for him. We were unsure if that is what we
wanted however the trainers came and spoke with us the benefits of her being
able to help him with his hearing then also being there to assist with his
PTS. First, Pia Pia would need to be scrutinize
to see if Pia Pia would be able to be a service dog as well as to see if my
husband would also be able to assist with the training, we also needed to obtained
the medical documentation from his physician stating his hearing loss and the
diagnosis of his PTS causing his anxiety/panic attacks, once we had the documentation,
the committee review Pia Pia’s performance and my husband’s position on her
being a service dog, they were approved to become a service dog team and the
training began. Within a couple of weeks
they started their service dog training.
As they began the service dog training we had Pia Pia’s ophthalmologist
appoint to find out that she gained sight back and she has no more eye
issues. 
She needless to say this little underweight
lethargic half blind Pug is now a hearing service dog for my husband. She gave my husband his life back with her he
has complete trust and faith that she has his back, will help him and be right
there for him when he needs her. Trust
me there have been times that she has been where I have unfortunately have failed
him, proving that the canine bond is stronger.
Another reason why each veteran who suffers from PTS needs less
medications and more canine companionship, in the end it is the companionship
and comradery of knowing that there is someone there that will have the veteran’s
back that is missing.
The only thing that is wrong with a veteran with PTS
is that they missed out on something special whether it was a holiday, birth of
a child, school event or just that romantic date to give us our freedom to
enjoy what we have today. If you see
that one person with sweaty palms, pacing or a little uneasy – don’t judge
them, they may be the veteran who gave you your freedom to judge – instead Thank
them and tell them you support them. If
they have a service dog acknowledge them with a Thank you and a support of them
with them having a service dog to help them.
Thank you. Thank you to all our
veterans, military personnel, their families, fur-legged family members and
those who help them.
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#pug #pugs #veteransadministration #k9forwarriors #petsforvets #dogsforlife
#merrick #bayerpethealth #bissell #Florida #puglife #pugnation #ptsd #va
#marspetcare #angel #love #savinggrace #halonokillshelter
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