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Back in July I wrote about the Puppies Behind Bars' Dog Tags program  that provides service dogs to veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Now research is underway to demonstrate the impact of pairing up returning soldiers with trained canines.
The U.S. Department of Defense is financing a $300,000, 12-month study that will look at the effects of service dogs on changes in PTSD symptoms and medication use . Researchers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. will compare soldiers with PTSD who have a service dog with a control group of dog-less soldiers. Some of the dogs being trained for the study will be rescues, making this program even more compelling.
Last week, research psychologist, Craig Love, and Psychiatric Service Dog Society founder, Joan Esnayra, presented a preliminary survey of veterans with PTSD . Since receiving a service dog, 82 percent of respondents reported fewer symptoms and 40 percent reported using fewer medications. Furthermore, the length of time the team had been together correlated with the reduction in symptoms and medication use.
Pet lovers already know about the healing power of dogs, but scientific research will increase the potential for initiatives like Sen. Al Franken’s legislation to provide funding for the training of service dogs for veterans . I look forward to the impact this study is bound to have on future research on the power of the human-canine relationship.