More than 8,000 veterans take their lives in the U.S. each year believing that they cannot handles living due to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), according to Operation Delta Dog's official website. One organization is taking their own unique approach to the issues facing these veterans by pairing and training them with service dogs. And even better, the dogs they use are all straight from animal shelters.
"The dogs are getting the homes they need and the veterans get the help they deserve," said Trisha Blanchet, Operation Delta Dog's founder and president, according to Barkpost.
Founded in 2013, Massachusetts-based Operation Delta Dog (OpDD) is home to nearly 400,000 veterans, with about 20-percent living with these (PTSD and TBI) disabilities. In addition, OpDD said that thy shelters in Mass. wind up with over 50,000 dogs, and half of those are euthanized due to a lack of space. OpDD is addressing both problems with all they've got. To date, they have 18 human-dog teams, which is remarkable considering it takes anywhere from 12 to 15 months to complete the intensive training course. This allows plenty of bonding time between the dog and veteran, which makes a win-win.
"The veteran is a part of the training process. The dogs become bonded with them very quickly and will notice some of the important things that they need to notice [...] where the animals will interrupt that and help them move on to whatever it is they need to be doing," said training director Carolyn Barney.
The trained service dogs are capable of relieving stress, managing depression and controlling panic attacks, as well as performing specific tasks suited to the veteran they are matched to help. The companionship and therapy they provide is immeasurable, with the veterans able to get their life back through the help of a shelter dog able to reach its full potential.
The costs involved are extensive and covered by OpDD through donations from the public and sponsors. The organization needs $10,000 to cover each dog, with the adoption fees, training classes, insurance and veterinary care per dog, according to OpDD's current fundraising campaign with Affectly.
