MONCTON – The recent terror attacks in Paris have been a trigger for Moncton veteran JJ White’s symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, but he’s finding relief from some furry friends.
“A full night’s sleep is unheard of,” White said.
White retired two years ago after serving for more than 3 decades as an artilleryman with the Canadian Forces. He says after several tours overseas, including two in Afghanistan, he came home a different man.
“I went through the usual channels, you know, handed a bunch of pills, ‘take these,’ it really didn’t work for me. What I found was working for me was having dogs.”
READ MORE: Pets and Pals: Courageous Companions help veterans overcome PTSD
To calm his nerves, he fires off commands to his dog “Trigger”, one of six 6 dog he has trained to be part of a performance dog platoon.
White has trained his pack to perform frisbee tricks in shows around the province. None of his pets are certified PTSD service dogs, but he says they are his lifeline.
“These dogs can sense that stress they can sense when I am having a sleepless night they wake me up and ground me and bring me right back to reality. “
He says Veterans Affairs’ plan to launch a psychological service dog pilot project is money well spent.
The federal government is spending up to $500,000 on a study to determine if veterans suffering from PTSD can indeed benefit from service dogs.
RELATED: Animal therapy offers hope for veterans struggling with PTSD
According to Veterans Affairs the project, which started in September, is being conducted at Laval University in Quebec. Roughly 50 dogs will be placed with veterans across the country, including in the Maritimes, and those placements will begin next Spring.
White only hopes the standards being used to train the dogs are up to par.
“I am a little skeptical, I know what it takes to train a dog and I am very skeptical that there will be substandard animals in our midst.”
He says PTSD service dogs need to be held to the highest possible standard. He says they should also be highly respected, just like the veterans they’re being trained to support.
“I got to admit when I was in, when I was serving, we would see these cases and yeah you are kinda like passing judgment until it happens to you.”
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