Dogs Help Wounded Vets

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Army Sergeant Paul Conner was on patrol in Iraq 18 months ago when he opened a door connected to an improvised explosive device. The explosion that erupted from the insurgent ambush blew out Conner’s eardrums and hurled him into a nearby wall, critically wounding him.

Luckily, Conner survived the explosion. But he lost most of his hearing in both ears and still suffers from his wounds sustained from the IED. Conner had to retire from the Army, after 24 years of service, and lives in Killeen, Texas, where adjusting to the new life his injuries have forced him into has been difficult.

It’s hard for the former platoon sergeant to know if his phone is ringing, when someone is saying his name or whether a guest is knocking on the door. What’s more, Conner’s injuries require him to have around-the-clock care.

"The explosion caused me to lose my hearing and I have PTSD, too. I'm also living with my parents right now because I need help 24-hours a day," Conner said during a phone interview. "I recently left the hospital because of heart problems I'm having now."

But after the Department of Veterans Affairs connected Conner to the Texas Hearing & Service Dogs organization -- which trains and provides canines to assist deaf or physically challenged people, free of charge -- Conner is redoubling his efforts to regain his self-sufficiency.

The hearing dog assistance group adopts canines from shelters or rescue programs and invests about $17,500 of donated funds to train the canines to be a hearing or service dogs.

The hearing dogs alert their partners by touch and lead them to a variety of everyday sounds, such as a knock on the door or doorbell, a ringing phone or an alarm clock -- or for something more urgent such as a ringing smoke alarm. Service dogs assist physically challenged partners by opening doors and refrigerators, fetching out-of-reach wheelchairs, retrieving dropped items, turning lights on and off and can even move paralyzed limbs back into place.

The dogs' schooling lasts one year and uses positive training methods based on rewards not punishment. After the dog is matched based on the participant's needs and the new owner undergoes months of training to live with the animal, the assistance dog is moved into the home.
"I heard about the program through the VA, and they got me in contact with [THSD]," Conner said. “They have a special program that works with Operation Iraqi Freedom Soldiers."

The program, dubbed "Assistance Dogs for Military Personnel," was formed by THSD in December 2007 thanks to a grant from the Texas Resources for Iraqi-Afghanistan Deployment Fund. This fund allows ADMP to provide trained hearing or service dogs to veterans that are deaf or have lost mobility during their service.

So far, Conner is training to receive an assistance dog, and the ADMP wants to help more wounded servicemembers. The program will still train the dogs free of charge, but once the veterans take possession of the animal they’re responsible for the upkeep, which could average $600 a year.

However, there are grants that can help veterans with the cost of upkeep, such as the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners. This program provides financial assistance to IAADP members whose assistance dogs'’ health problems seriously interferes with its ability to work or has the potential of shortening the dog's life if left untreated.
Sheri Soltes, founder and CEO of Texas Hearing & Service Dogs, says that the newly formed ADMP will not only provide the same psychological and emotional benefits for wounded vets that it does for disabled civilians, but will result in social benefits as well.

The Assistance Dogs for Military Personnel Program "provides a social benefit because when people first see someone in a wheelchair they may not know how to approach this person," she said. "But when they see an assistance dog, it becomes an icebreaker and people want to engage in conversation about the dog and its partner."

And the dogs’ owners can regain a sense of independence that a serious injury may have hampered.

"One of the program's participants went to a library and was able to get a book with the help of his service dog," Soltes added. "He said that the dog gave him his dignity back because he didn’t have to have anyone help him. He could do it."

The injured Conner looks forward to the day when he takes home his assistance dog and helps regain a new sense of autonomy. He's currently training to live with his hearing dog and says that he’ll need the canine for "the rest of his life."

"The damage is done, I’ve lost my hearing. I have a special phone and my house is wired to help me hear," Conner added."But the hearing dog will help me get my independence."

If you're a wounded servicemember interested in learning more about this program, or to make a donation to their parent organization, Texas Hearing & Service Dogs, visit their website at www.servicedogs.org.


Source: Man?s Best Friend Helps Wounded Vets