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| US military veteran Michael Kidd and his companion dog Millie leave after a training session at the Paws of War office in Nesconset, New York -- Millie helps Kidd navigate the difficulties of post-traumatic stress disorder (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE) |
Nesconset (United States) (AFP) - Michael Kidd, now 84 years old, fought in the Korean War. His young German shepherd Millie helps calm him down when things start to swirl, usually at night.
Harry
Stolberg -- a 42-year-old former Marine who served in Bosnia, Liberia and
Nigeria -- has a chocolate Labrador named Rocky who wakes him up from his
troubled dreams.
And
31-year-old Phil Davanzo -- who carried the bodies of fallen comrades during a
hostage rescue operation that went wrong off Somalia in 2011 -- hopes his
Rottweiler puppy will soon be trained to support him during his panic attacks.
The three
US veterans, who all live on New York's Long Island, suffer from post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and have sought solace through pet therapy -- namely, a
loyal dog to keep them company.
The shelter
animals are either trained or being trained to help them through difficult
times by Paws of War, an association funded entirely by private donations that
then provides the service dogs free of charge.
The group
will also train a veteran's dog if he or she already has one.
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Veteran
Harry Stolberg says his dog Rocky helps him wake up from the nightmares that
have come after his service overseas in the Marine Corps (AFP Photo/Johannes
EISELE)
|
"The
biggest thing is he wakes me up from nightmares," Stolberg says of
three-year-old Rocky.
"He
can open the door, come in my room, turn on the lights, take my blinders off
me... and lick my hands so I wake up."
Rocky,
whose 18 months of training were completed six months ago, also helps Stolberg
navigate large crowds, which can be triggering.
"If I
can't move, he will get me out of that crowd -- he will pick up on that. He
will walk around me and look at it and if I don't respond, he will walk away
from the crowd with me hooked up to him," he says.
Paws of War
-- their acronym is a play on POW, used to signify prisoners of war -- has been
active since 2014.
More than
100 dogs have been trained so far, and the therapeutic results for their
masters have been significant.
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Michael
Kidd's dog Millie, seen here, is being trained at Paws of War to help Kidd
when
times are tough -- he says her assistance has led to a reduced need for
medication (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)
|
Off the
meds
Kidd, who
suffers from severe PTSD, has been able to reduce his intake of medication
thanks to Millie.
At night
when things are tough, "she will come over to me, she will put her paw on
my shoulder, on my chest, and just give me a big slobber," says Kidd,
whose father was in Normandy on D-Day.
"That's
just saying, 'I am here for you.'"
Stolberg
used to need sleeping pills to get through the night, but not anymore, thanks
to Rocky.
"Sleeping
was my biggest problem. (...) Now I only have a nightmare once or twice a
month, instead of every day," he explains.
"A lot
of that is also because I know that when I go to sleep, he is in the room -- he
is going to wake me up no matter what."
 |
Rebecca
Stromski, a senior trainer for Paws of War whose husband served in
Afghanistan
and Kuwait, says it takes 18 to 24 months to teach dogs what to do when
a
troubled veteran sends distress signals (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)
|
'Quite a
process'
It takes 18
to 24 months to teach dogs what to do when a troubled veteran sends distress
signals, according to Rebecca Stromski, a senior trainer for Paws of War whose
husband served in Afghanistan and Kuwait.
"It's
quite a process actually, creating a mutual respect and a connection between
the service dude and the service dog," she says.
"Once
the foundations are in place and the dog starts feeling if things are going
well or not for the veterans, they start to do certain motions when the guys
are fidgeting," Stromski explains.
"I can
start and cue that behavior and use that as an alert."
In the face
of seemingly interminable wars for US military personnel in Afghanistan and
Iraq, deployments which began in 2001, veterans are experiencing PTSD symptoms
on a regular basis.
Paws of War
has more requests for service animals than it can fulfill, with 50 veterans on
the waiting list, according to the group's co-founder Dori Scofield.
 |
So far,
Paws of War has trained more than 100 dogs to help troubled veterans on Long
Island, and has more applications than it can currently fulfill (AFP
Photo/Johannes EISELE)
|
Both ends
of the leash
After
running an animal shelter for 30 years, Scofield launched Paws of War after
being contacted by veterans returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Those
soldiers had become attached to dogs they had found in those countries, but
were unable to bring them back home.
Through
word of mouth recommendations, the association quickly became a top meeting
place for the 75,000-strong veteran community on Long Island, one of the
biggest in the United States.
"We
get applications every day -- we can't keep up," Scofield says. "I
can't train enough dogs fast enough."
She has
opened satellite offices in Florida and in northern New York state. She has
also launched a free mobile veterinary clinic where veterans can bring their
companion animals.
Dogs who
might have ended up put to sleep in shelters now have homes, and veterans are
rediscovering "a reason to get up every day, get moving, get out,"
Scofield says.
"It
has been just so awesome, helping both ends of the leash."
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