Post Traumatic Stress Disorders: Dog Therapy

The use of therapeutic dogs in nursing homes and other care or incarceration facilities is necessary in today’s world of young people, geriatric patients, and the mentally ill who exhibit various behavior and emotional problems. Dogs bring emotional support and open avenues of expression for segments of society that find it difficult to experience that support or to express otherwise.

In today's society, people are affected by many different life hindering disabilities. These disabilities range from diseases, depression, cancer, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and everyday stress. Alexys is a young girl who was born with autism. She experienced sleeping problems as well as many other stressful issues. Alexys had a very hard time making friends

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder causes anxiety and flashbacks triggered by a traumatic event. (Mayo Clinic) There is no known cure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but ways to calm those who are affected by the mental health condition have been developed and identified. One way to help people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder happens to be dog therapy. David Sharpe, a war veteran who served with the U.S. Air Force security forces in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He lives alone and is isolated from the world. He pushed away his parents, family, and friends. Then Cheyenne, his therapy dog, came into his life. He began opening up to the dog and actually crying to her to release his emotions, and Cheyenne was there for him. Cheyenne received every pain he felt and opened him to the world. He became less seclusive and even started seeing people again. Not only for David Sharpe did dog therapy help, but dog therapy also helped Bradley Fasnacht. He made a statement that a therapy dog and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients were a match made in heaven. In Fanacht own words, he

A tornado had landed destroying many towns of the state. Houses were destroyed, people were missing, or even dead, all by this tornado. After the disaster sadness, anger, and many emotions filled the towns. People were going through pain they did not know how to handle. Then came the Therapy Dog International (TDI’s) stress relief therapy dog team. Owners of therapy dogs traveled over many states to relieve the stress of the tornado stricken people. They marched through the wreckage giving those who needed it a dog to talk to or a fur coat to pet. The stress relief center was the school, and many students were there. They brought the dogs into the school to relieve the pain the kids felt. The dogs gave the students a friend to talk to, a shoulder to cry in, and just a friend in general. The dogs that came were like heroes to the young kids stricken with the disaster. The main goal of the therapy dogs were to convince the people of the tornado stricken areas in Oklahoma to keep moving on. They wanted the people to be encouraged to keep moving forward from the disaster. In times of trouble as well as stress the therapy dog teams came and provided comfort. (Therapy Dog International Stress Relief