Militray veterans with PTSD finding comfort in pups

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on many of our daily lives and numerous people are experiencing heightened stress and anxiety, this situation can be even more difficult for those dealing with mental health challenges – such as military veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The British Journal of Psychiatry has estimated that that over 6% of veterans returning from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. This would mean that up to 150,000 of the 2.4 million military veterans currently living in the UK could be suffering from PTSD.

There is a critical need for effective interventions to help support the health of our veterans, particularly during this time, and animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are a possible solution. A new crossover study funded in part by the ISAZ/Waltham Petcare Science Institute Collaborative Research Award and Canines Providing Assistance to Wounded Warriors® (C-P.A.W.W.®)has found that veterans with heightened symptoms of PTSD can see benefits from walking shelter dogs.

Aston spoke to Kay O’Donnell, vice-president of the Waltham Petcare Science Institute and Craig MacLellan, military veteran, founder and CEO of Veterans with Dogs (a charity providing assitance for military veterans with service-related mental health conditions) to discuss about this new study, the science behind how human-animal interaction can help address mental health issues like PTSD and how veterans can also make a difference in the lives of shelter dogs.

Photo by Berkay Gumustekin on Unsplash