Veterans Embrace The Power Of Animals To Help With Mental Health Struggles
From dogs to horses, animals are helping veterans cope with PTSD and other mental health struggles.
The Washington Post:
His First Job Was Training Service Dogs In Prison. The Dogs Go On To Transform Veterans’ Lives.
Last year, Al Moore was gulping down a dozen medications to cope with physical pain and sometimes crippling post-traumatic stress disorder that he developed during 30 years in the Marine Corps. Those drugs have been replaced by what Moore describes as “the most holistic medicine you can have.” “We call him ‘Kevin the wonder dog,’ ” Moore’s wife, Dawn, said Thursday, pointing to the Labrador retriever whose light brown eyes were fixed, as usual, on her husband. “He’s always wondering, ‘What can I do for you?’ ” (Chason, 10/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Using Horsepower To Fight PTSD And Veteran Suicide
M, a lifelong equestrian, first witnessed the healing power of horses while working after college on a ranch in Colorado, where she was teaching people to ride. A family had brought their 4-year-old son, a boy with Down syndrome who was uncommunicative. Something about the horse captivated him. Sitting in the saddle, he signed “horse”—the first word he had ever communicated. His mother started crying, which prompted his first spoken word too: “Mama.” Moved by the encounter, Ms. Hill-McQueeney began to learn about the then little-known concept of therapeutic riding or equine therapy. (Winkler, 10/26)
