Who could benefit from a service dog?

It has been a long while since I've had time to sit down and write a blog but tonight, I felt it was time to write again.

Many things have gone on at RRR since the last blog.  Dogs coming and going, training, etc. and each day there is always more work to do.  However, we are always learning, improving, and keeping close to our original goal- training service dogs for members of our Military with PTSD, TBI and other visible and invisible wounds.

Tonight I want to talk about what a service dog IS, what a service dog is NOT and who could benefit from having such a special canine on 'their team'.

When people think of service dogs, many people think of guide dogs for the blind (seeing eye dogs), dogs that assist with physical tasks, etc but not many people consider emotional service dogs.  You might be wondering what this kind of service dog does.  Their tasks are varied according to their 'person' but some of these tasks can include: tactile stimulation during a 'flashback', creating a barrier around a person in public to keep them from being accidentally touched or bumped, acting as a social lubricant by learning tricks, 'hugging' their person, sitting in the lap of their 'person' to trigger a release of 'happy chemicals' in the body (for dogs over 30 lbs), interrupting a person whose anger is quickly growing and reminding them to take a moment or walk away, 'patrolling' the house at night to ease their person, waking someone from a nightmare, etc.  For those also suffering from TBI, these dogs can also help with things such as balance assist, retrieving dropped objects and medication reminders.  Most importantly, what each of these dog provides is unconditional love and acceptance of their person.

It is however important to remember that a service dog is not an easy fix or a quick solution.  They do not magically make problems disappear.  They will always require constant training and touching up to continue working at a high level and must have a handler who is willing to put in the time so that their canine can continue to assist them.  A service dog may not make problems disappear but they can help someone to work through them step by step, and with a caring canine partner at their side.

The next question is WHO could benefit from a service dog.  First, those experiencing symptoms of PTSD, TBI, military combat trauma, military sexual trauma, etc can benefit from a service dog but not EVERYONE will work well with a service dog.  This needs to be a decision made by the care provider of the person, the person themselves AND the service dog training organization.  However, even those who may not be candidates for a full out service dog CAN be wonderful candidates for a well trained companion animal who can help them through daily life by simply being there for them.

HOW does one go about obtaining a service dog, especially from RRR?  First, we like to talk with the person.  Many other service dog providers ask potential candidates to fill out an application.  In a way, we do too but we like to instead make it a little more personal by getting the answers to our questions through conversation.  However, if someone is more comfortable filling out a paper application, we are happy to provide them with one of those as well.  Secondly, we do ask for a care providers recommendation for the service animal.  While we agree that almost anyone could benefit from owning a well trained companion animal, we do need to discuss the option of a service dog with a medical care provider for a few reasons.  One, we want to make sure that the person applying for the dog actually has a NEED for the dog.  Second, we need to speak with the provider to fully understand the effects of PTSD, TBI, etc on the person so we can train the dog properly to suit their needs.  What a person might want and what a medical care provider deems necessary may be two different things though we are always happy to work with the wants as well, time permitting.

WHAT can you do if you know someone who might benefit from having a service dog or a well trained companion animal to assist them?  Have them send us a message and let us know!  We are happy to walk them through each step in a non confusing manner and help them to determine what would best suit their needs.

We are here to help and if we do not have, or cannot find, a dog to suit the persons needs, we will help them reach out to someone who can!