Every day in the United States 22 Veterans die from suicide, due in part to PTSD. That’s over 8,000 lives lost each year. After serving in combat as part of a close-knit unit facing challenges and terrors together, many people find the transition to civilian life difficult and lonely. Traumatic memories follow them home. Northwest Battle Buddies empowers combat Veterans with PTSD by partnering them with professionally-trained, specifically matched service dogs.
PTSD
Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after a traumatic event. In the simplest of terms, combat is a traumatic event. Afterwards the Veteran may feel scared, confused, or angry. If these feelings are not properly treated and cared for, the symptoms may disrupt the person’s life, making it hard to continue daily activities. There is no cure for PTSD, but service dogs can reduce PTSD symptoms with life-changing results.
Battle Buddies
In the United States Army, soldiers are assigned a partner – or “battle buddy” – as a friend and ally. In their civilian life, the canine companion veterans receive from Northwest Battle Buddies is their friend and ally watching their back and helping with symptoms of PTSD like isolation and hypervigilance. Much like how medical-alert dogs can detect epileptic seizures or a dangerous changes in blood sugar, PTSD service dogs are trained to detect adrenaline spikes when the veterans are experiencing anxiety or fear. They can then interrupt negative thought patterns with attention and affection, or even awaken veterans from nightmares. Veterans with impaired vision will place their service dogs on their impaired side for safety and as a social barrier to prevent unwanted surprises from that side. In addition, giving and receiving physical affection from animals increases oxytocin, which can lower heart rate and blood pressure and helps manage stress. Because having a service dog helps reduce PTSD symptoms, many veterans are able to decrease the amount of prescription medications they are reliant on.
Training Process
NWBB does not use any particular breed of dog, but often uses rescued or surrendered dogs. Each dog is given a medical exam to ensure they are healthy and fully vaccinated. Dogs must be at least 40 pounds, and a maximum of 2 years old, and are screened to ensure they are sociable and confident. Dogs are individually paired with a veteran based on that veteran’s unique needs. All service dogs spend 7+ months in intensive training, then undergo another 5 weeks of training while partnered with their veteran. NWBB service dogs are trained using the Schutzhund method used to train police dogs.
Need
Northwest Battle Buddies is faced with increased demands as the number of people returning from war with disabilities grows. Your donation will help NWBB continue to provide life-saving service dogs free of charge to veterans. This month Equilibrium will match all in-office donations to Northwest Battle Buddies. If you’re interested in getting involved in other ways (like fostering a puppy!) or to donate directly click here.
