{"id":12038,"date":"2016-05-04T13:24:55","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T13:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/?p=12038"},"modified":"2016-05-31T13:25:55","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T13:25:55","slug":"how-shelter-dogs-are-helping-u-s-veterans-battle-ptsd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/04\/how-shelter-dogs-are-helping-u-s-veterans-battle-ptsd\/","title":{"rendered":"How shelter dogs are helping U.S. veterans battle PTSD"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brian Prowse-Gany<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

They\u2019re called man\u2019s (or woman\u2019s) best friend, and for good reason. Dogs seem to have the natural ability to feed off human emotions and reciprocate. Through a mutual understanding of things like happiness, fear and empathy, dogs and their caretakers are able to form a bond the way one would with a family member or friend.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Clarissa Black has devoted her career to understanding the minds of animals. As an animal trainer with a master\u2019s in anthrozoology \u2014 the study of interactions between humans and other animals \u2014 Black spent years working with elephants and dolphins. But it was a trip to the local Veterans Affairs Hospital with her dog that sparked the idea that would become her passion.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Watching how the veterans lit up and responded to her dog, named Bear, Black was inspired to use her skills and resources to start training rescue dogs as a means of therapy for America\u2019s veterans, particularly those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cYou could almost feel this weight being lifted off of them, that sort of sigh and that breath, and you could see their smiles,\u201d said Black.<\/p>\n

\u00a0She started the nonprofit organization Pets for Vets<\/a>, whose mission was to not only help struggling veterans, but also to give a second chance to shelter dogs around the country, many of whom are destined for an unhappy ending.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s a win-win for people like Casey, a young Navy veteran struggling with PTSD, who has turned his life around thanks to Jazzy, one of the many rescue dogs released to Pets for Vets from an animal shelter.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWithout Jazzy, before her, my life was pretty sketchy. But now, I\u2019m pretty social. \u00a0I\u2019m not afraid of that many things anymore. The dog did it,\u201d said Casey. \u201cIt makes me feel better about myself that I\u2019m able to take care of her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Through an extensive matchmaking process, a Pets for Vets team member interviews each veteran to evaluate which animal would be the right fit based on personality and lifestyle. Once the pet is selected, the animal is trained to be obedient and learns skills that will benefit its new owner\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

\u00a0With chapters around the country, Pets for Vets is not only helping shelter dogs find the love they deserve, but also it\u2019s a way to say thank you to our country\u2019s veterans for their service and dedication.<\/p>\n

\u00a0To donate and for more information on Pets for Vets, please visithttp:\/\/www.petsforvets.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brian Prowse-Gany They\u2019re called man\u2019s (or woman\u2019s) best friend, and for good reason. Dogs seem to have the natural ability to feed off human emotions and reciprocate. Through a mutual understanding of things like happiness, fear and empathy, dogs and their caretakers are able to form a bond the way one would with a family member or friend. \u00a0Clarissa Black has devoted her career to understanding the minds of animals. As an animal trainer with a master\u2019s in anthrozoology \u2014 the study of interactions between humans and other animals \u2014 Black spent years working with elephants and dolphins. But it was a trip to the local Veterans Affairs Hospital with her dog that sparked the idea that would become her passion. \u00a0Watching how the veterans lit up and responded to her dog, named Bear, Black was inspired to use her skills and resources to start training rescue dogs as a means of therapy for America\u2019s veterans, particularly those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, anxiety and depression. \u00a0\u201cYou could almost feel this weight being lifted off of them, that sort of sigh and that breath, and you could see their smiles,\u201d said Black. \u00a0She started the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12039,"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12038\/revisions\/12039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiopetexpert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}