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John - a Marine vet with PTSD and a golfer - and his service dog Onyx.


cksurfdude

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Thank you for bringing this to our attention!


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The highlight of my golfing day.

(but this is not a golfing story)

 

There's a short 9-hole course on the grounds of a VA Med Center not too far from where I live; I've played there a number of times - it's a fun little course, classic design and definitely has some good golf challenges on it - and I also volunteered there several seasons. The other day my wife I went to play and as we got up towards the first hole and starting area we saw a Black Lab loose near one of the waiting groups..

..as we got closer I noticed the service vest (and recognized the logo) and also saw the ink on the starters' arms as we showed him our card, so I asked: "Is that your dog?" and almost without waiting for an answer: "Is it OK if I pet her?" (..a lot of you on here know I'm a crazy dog person with two large black dogs of my own) ..

..and of course he said "Yes!", and I said thanks! and mentioned that I'm a regular contributor to the non-profit group that raised and trained this service dog .. and the conversation started flowing from there...

766863603_AmericasVetDogs-JohnandOnyx.jpg.62663f7200a7585ea5b34f0bfbba195a.jpg

John and Onyx.

(fyi that's a wooden tee stuck behind his right ear)

..I asked about things like his experience with the vet dogs organization (overwhelmingly positive), how he'd found about it (from a Viet Nam vet), what was the status of service dogs within the VA (still non grata), things like that and he was remarkably open and forthcoming about himself, his troubles and .. naturally .. a lot about Onyx. I won't recount our whole conversation (probably close to 10 minutes!) but I will admit that at one point I almost teared up .. when he described himself before getting Onyx as "a broken human being" (that made me sad) vs. his life now not simply as "better" but as "a whole new life in a whole new way" (that made me happy)..

..He'd spent (apparently a lot of) time in and around Fallujah (and other areas) and .. like too many others .. had problems re-adjusting when he got back home. He became more and more isolated and withdrawn, and had recurring nightmares. It didn't take too long before he felt he couldn't function in society. The VA doctors had him on eleven (ELEVEN!!) medications .. all of which he is now clean from. [Repeat: for this vet, having a service dog has negated the need for all anxiety and depression meds.]

..One of the trained behaviors that Onyx does for him is when a nightmare occurs she.. 1. pulls the covers off of him; 2. pushes the rocker switch for the lights on; then 3. goes to kitchen, pulls a rope to open the fridge, pulls out a bottle of water, shuts the fridge and brings him the water. And if that's not enough, then on top of all that she'll lay down next to him and regulate her breathing so it's slow and steady and so John can use that as an "anchor" to help him calm himself. 

Absolutely amazing!!

..as we continued to talk John told us a bit about the training he went through at the vet dogs facility to learn to handle and work with Onyx (18 hour days for 2 weeks); and how just having her near and being able to pet and rub her helps relieve his stress - it seems she's also learned to recognize when he's starting to feel tense and she'll push herself up against him. He said caring for the dog has given him purpose and direction (and a lot of fun and happiness - no surprise to me there), and went on to talk about another aspect of this service dog program...

..a part of their puppy raising process is placing a young dog in the care of a prison inmate. Well, after he'd had the dog for about a year and a half he took her to visit that inmate .. who cried when he saw the dog and told John how that experience had transformed him and was a turning point in his life .. he'd started online classes and done some voluntary community service. John said the warden now trusts this prisoner so much he let him take the dog for a walk .. outside the prison gate .. unescorted.

All in all this is what I call a huge success story!

 

So...

I'm relating all this to help raise awareness of these vets + dogs programs and the multiple benefits they provide, and to ask of anyone who has any interest and also believes it's a good thing to please consider:

 1. if you have a few extra $$ making a donation to one of the non-profits providing these services**;

or, 

2. if you have some extra time see if there's an organization in your area that needs a good volunteer;

or, 

3. writing to the VA Administration and/or to your federal House Reps and Senators requesting them to urge the VA to .. (a) accept the growing body of research proving the therapeutic benefits of giving vets a service or therapy dog, and (b) to assign service / therapy dogs the appropriate status in their medical care regimen so that doctors can recommend them and so eligible, needy vets can receive one as a benefit.

 

Thanks for reading!!

 

** Non-Profits providing vets with service dogs:

There are many around the country, and there are online resources to research non-profits, but fyi a few that I believe do good work and have contributed to include...

- America's Vet Dogs (you may have heard of Sully, former President Bush's companion dog? He went through the AVD training program.)

- Warrior Canine Connection (they train vets to raise and train the dogs and then to train the recipient vets how to handle and care for them)

- Paws of War

- K-9s for Warriors

Man, thank you SO much for that post!!!! Makes my heart well-up with all of the good in there. This is awesome. I will definitely reach-out to my US House Rep from here, a former military pilot, and share my thoughts on service dogs. Just amazing! Thanks for sharing this.

 

 

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This is awesome.  Thanks for posting this @cksurfdude!

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Great story @cksurfdude, thanks for sharing!

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Thanks all who've taken the time to read through this, and to those who've responded! 👍

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...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow, what a great story.  I'm glad to hear he is coping now without medication and is clearly on the road to recovery.  Thanks for sharing! 

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21 hours ago, B.Boston said:

Wow, what a great story.  I'm glad to hear he is coping now without medication and is clearly on the road to recovery.  Thanks for sharing! 

Thx for reading!

Over the past few years I seem to have read too many news stories about VA doctors - whom I'm sure are all well-intentioned but I'm sure are all way over-worked - prescribing more and more meds to patients. IMHO it's important for the VA, as a medical organization, to research and test other treatments where suitable .. including service / therapy dogs.

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

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Thanks for sharing this story.  A full blown dog lover myself, I love hearing about these relationships.  

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I know first hand how pets can calm and help veterans heal.   I'm a vietnam veteran who has suffered through alcoholism, depression, ptsd, and hard times post war. When my wife asked me to help her at the county animal shelter I wondered what I could do to help.  After going to shelter two to three times per week walking dogs and helping my wife with the photos, it became apparent that this was a huge healing bonus for me.  I thought I was helping the dogs to get adopted and in the process, they were helping me to a fuller life.   We ended up fostering a few and later on adopting two. They're not "service" dogs and are certainly not trained for rehabing their masters however I can assure you these shelter dogs can warm your heart like nothing else.    In my opinion, pets are angels from the good Lord sent to help us humans see true joy. 

Thanks for sharing this story ❤️

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Thx OG!! Dogs really can be incredible companions, and I'm glad to hear how much they've helped you .. it's amazing, right? 👍

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

followthrough.jpg

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