Veterans with PTSD make progress thanks to service dog program | News, Sports, Jobs

First Sgt. Timothy Siebenmorgen, left, and Cpl. Mark Atkinson sits with their service dogs, Rosie and Lexi, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Kan., during a group training session. Both veterans are part of Dogs 4 Valor, which helps retired veterans and first responders in the Kansas City area work with their service dogs to help manage depression, anxiety and other challenges. AP photo

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — After working in a crowded and dangerous internment camp in Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O’Brien brought home anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A bouncing labradoodle and a program in the Kansas City area helped her get back on her feet.

Dogs 4 Valor, operated through an Olathe, Kansas-based organization called The Battle Within, helps retired veterans and first responders work with their service dogs to help manage depression, anxiety and other challenges.

“Many times the veteran with severe PTSD is housebound,” said Sandra Sindeldecker, program manager for Dogs 4 Valor. “They are isolated. They are very nervous. They will not make eye contact. Some won’t leave the house at all.”

The program involves both group and individual training. The goal is for the veteran and the dog to feel comfortable with each other and understand each other. The group goes out to help veterans get back on their feet in public places like airports. Program leaders also provide mental health therapy at no cost.

Veterans and dogs graduate in six to nine months, but group gatherings continue.

There is growing evidence of the value of service dogs for veterans with PTSD. A small study published in JAMA Network Open in June looked at a program operated by K9s For Warriors. Service dogs in the program are taught to detect a veteran’s physical signs of distress and can interrupt panic attacks and nightmares with a loving nudge.

Researchers compared 81 veterans who received service dogs with 75 veterans on the waiting list for a trained dog. After three months, PTSD symptoms improved in both groups, but veterans with dogs saw greater improvement on average.

O’Brien, 40, recalled that the camp where he worked in Iraq sometimes had more than 20,000 inmates. Violence and riots were common and left her with severe anxiety.

“Coming out of the military, I assumed you were supposed to be on your toes all the time as a veteran,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien’s mother saw the full lab mix on Facebook and convinced her daughter to adopt the dog, which she named Albus. Months later, O’Brien learned about Dogs 4 Valor, and the pair joined the program in October 2023.

O’Brien says she’s now able to go out in public again — she even vacationed in Branson, Missouri, “things I never thought I’d do really, probably never.”

Mark Atkinson, 38, served in Afghanistan as a corporal in the Marine Corps. He returned home with PTSD and major depressive disorder, causing insomnia and anxiety. She adopted Lexi, now 5, in 2020.

Lexi, a muscular cane corso, needed Atkinson as much as he needed her. Her former owner had kept Lexi in chains before surrendering her. Since joining Dogs 4 Valor, the two can go out together and enjoy life.

“I don’t really like leaving the house because I’m safe there, you know?” Atkinson said. “And having Lexi just made me more social.”

Having a group of fellow veterans facing the same challenges also helped, Atkinson said.

“We come from the same backgrounds, different branches,” Atkinson said. “Same problems. You know, PTSD or traumatic brain injury. And they are all very welcoming as well. There is no judgment.”

O’Brien compared living with Albus to a relationship with a sometimes pushy best friend who often wants to go out.

“The best friend constantly wants to make you do things that make you nervous,” O’Brien laughed, admitting that it’s ultimately up to her.

“I have to decide to go away and just deal with life,” O’Brien said. “And so it was hard. And it’s still hard from time to time, but it’s getting manageable.”

Some veterans said their family relationships have improved since starting the program.

“I’m able to talk, not fly off the handle and get along with people and not be as stressed, not have as much anxiety,” Atkinson said. “Or even if I do, she (Lexi) is right there with me.”

Timothy Siebenmorgen, 61, said his relationships are also better with the help of his 1-year-old American bulldog, Rosie, and Dogs 4 Valor, which he joined in July. He served in both the Navy and Army, deploying 18 times.

“You’re in the military, you’re kind of taught not to show weakness,” Siebenmorgen said. “So you realize you can tackle everything on your own and you honestly believe that. And then you realize you can’t do it alone.”

Veterans said the dogs and the program gave them new hope and a renewed ability to move forward.

“I got my life back,” O’Brien said.