Gracie's Work
Recently, the Veterans Affairs Department decided to discontinue funding for veterans with dogs who help manage their daily battles with mental health challenges. Warriors with invisible service wounds are finding comfort and confidence when matched with a trained canine that is also emotionally sensitive to this population. But the VA is now waiting until research proves what these veterans and canine service training groups already know. These partnerships work.
I am currently training a one-year-old female Labrador, named Gracie, in my work with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) and North Star Foundation. Through the generosity of North Star's executive director, Patty Gross, the vision of a local veterans' program and private funds raised in Washington state, Gracie has become the fifth dog in this successful project to match trained assistance dogs with veterans who live with PTSD and/or traumatic brain injuries.
Earlier canine-veteran partnerships in this project give one veteran the courage to shop at a grocery store with less fear, wake another veteran from nightmares, help a wounded female warrior face daily fears and regain trust, and give another a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
This innovative project and others around the country and in Canada reflect the committed grassroots effort to meet the increasing needs of wounded men and women with military psychological injuries. Other organizations that also donate the cost of their services teach veterans how to train their canine companions to support their mental and physical health. Some sustainable prison dog-training programs include shelter dogs as part of their mission to help inmates, dogs and veterans.
In October, Gracie will meet her prospective veteran to begin the next step of her development. From her successful training progress to date, this young dog will continue the project's goals of bringing hope and comfort to our wounded warriors. As veteran and canine teams prosper around the country, the VA may yet be persuaded to see with their eyes and their hearts the powerful medicine created from these alliances.
