Ozzie to help him work with his military service
related trauma. Ozzie came from the K9s For
Warriors program. Bell wants to spread the word
about this very beneficial program.
Last week at an awards luncheon honoring female veterans Maria Saunders, a 15-year veteran of the United States Army and West Virginia State Chaplain for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, shared her story of trauma and pain.
Through her time in the military, she experienced the loss by suicide of three comrades-in-arms. The trauma in too many ways defined her career, but now she uses her experience to counsel others.
During her talk, she noted metaphorically that “you carry a ruck with you and eventually that ruck gets heavy.” The weight of it, she explained, nearly drove her to suicide herself. Reconnecting with her family and with God helped her to find her purpose. Often, an emotional catalyst can help lead veterans towards finding productive purpose.
And so many veterans have to carry that “ruck” of experiences, good, bad, and sometimes even traumatic, when they exit the military and return to civilian life. The weight of that ruck can make the adjustment difficult and loved ones may often bear the brunt of that burden, even if the veteran him or herself would never intentionally lay their problems on them.
K9s For Warriors offers help in carrying those emotions and experiences through a unique service that provides veterans who left the service with different kinds of emotional and physical trauma with a support dog and help. Both the experience given on their campus and the presence of a trained emotional support animal help to provide that catalyst that can help point the way forward.
West Virginia veteran George Bell spent eight years in the service of his country. The weight of missing time with his family, weddings, funerals, and all of the other rituals and joys of children, family, and extended family took place with him absent. This compounded trauma for Bell and left him lost in ways also described by Saunders when she exited the service.
He shared how his wife and family watched him struggle and faced challenges right alongside of him, then eventually they told Bell, as he put it, “George, you’re going to have to get some help.”
And the Veterans Administration and K9s For Warriors, then Bell’s new best friend Ozzie, were there.
Shari Duvall, a Florida mother of a veteran who returned from combat with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, understood the healing power of dogs, according to the K9s For Warriors website. As the website explained, she saw “that he was only himself around his dog.”
As a result, “Shari put all her time and resources into restoring the lives of Veterans through the use of highly trained Service Dogs.”
Though Duvall passed away from cancer in 2021, her insights on the struggles faced by veterans continue to ring true. Duvall said “The military teaches our Veterans how to go to war, but these kids are not being taught how to come home. Our mission is to save their lives. Our mission is to get them back into civilian life with dignity and independence. They deserve that.”
Bell had not heard of the program when he reached out to his mental health counselor at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Martinsburg. She connected him with a psychologist who ran Bell through a battery of tests that determined he suffered from PTSD. The program also assists those who have experienced Traumatic Brain Injury, and/or sexual abuse in a military setting.
Once Bell received that diagnosis, he was referred to the K9s For Warriors program. After years of struggle, now came a chance to find some peace from it. Once the paperwork was completed, he said, “I went down and got my dog.”
Just like the veterans the dogs will care for, each canine comes with its own story. Bell stated that “some come from off the street, some from dog pounds, others come from breeders.” The website explains that the dogs used often have undergone challenges themselves and calls the program “a nationwide movement to save lives at both ends of the leash.”
They themselves undergo six months of rigorous training. NBC News reported that the cost of training service dogs overall range from $15,000 to $40,000 with emotional support dogs needing specialized teaching.
K9s For Warriors has two campuses, one in Saint Augustine, Florida and the other in San Antonio, Texas. “You have to get your way there, but the VA will pay for travel.,” explained Bell.
“Once you get there, it is amazing,” he shared, adding that the three-week experience has almost a “boot camp” type of feel. “A veterans group delivers meals,” he added, saying “you don’t have to pay for anything. Attendees can provide a list of wants and needs that the organization will fill for them.
The focus lies entirely on connecting the dog to the veteran effectively and productively. “They take your car keys and you bond with the dog 24/seven.”
Bell described how they receive instructions the first night after receiving their dog. They told him and other attendees that “they will want to sleep with you in your bed.” Emotional support service dogs are often trained to use touch as a means to monitor their human. People often feel that touch from the dog is therapeutic as well.
For those who, for any reason, prefer that the dog not get into the bed, attendees are urged to make that plain on the first night. The command “place” tells them to sleep on their dog pad on the floor.” Bell said “in the morning, they’re right on schedule. About 5:30 or 6 o’ clock in the morning, they have their paws on the bed to tell you they need to go to the bathroom.”
He was part of a class of eight whose service came from the Army, Navy, and the United States Coast Guard. While the Coast Guard does not see combat, they do experience extremes of danger and emotional toll through life saving and/or law enforcement roles.
Bell’s service dog Ozzie is a year and a half old, “still just a pup,” Bell said as the dog put his paws on his lap and licked his face lovingly. He is a yellow Labrador Retriever. K9s For Warriors use that breed, along with golden retrievers and certain mixed breed dogs that are considered good candidates for emotional support animals. Though not all organizations use them, American pit bulls also can make excellent service animals.
Over three weeks, the program not only connects veterans to dogs on campus. It also takes them to shop, eat at a restaurant, or enjoy many of the beautiful sights around Saint Augustine. “At 9 o’ clock at night, that place looks like a vacation spot in mid afternoon,” he said. New owners have the opportunity during these outings to learn how to command effectively while dogs get accustomed to a wide variety of human social environments.
Veterans connect with each other as well join a large lounge area meant to bring attendees together. “You meet some interesting people there,” noted Bell, who then said “there’s people who have been through the same thing you’ve been through.” The sharing that takes place serves as its own kind of therapy because, outside of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, veterans have few forums to share of themselves with people who understand their experiences.
Care does not end when the three weeks of training are up. K9s For Warriors maintains contact to ensure that the relationships continue to develop positively. Also at the one year, three year, and five year mark they need to see the dog continue to respond effectively to commands to recertify it as an official service dog.
Only a month or so after meeting Ozzie, Bell shared that he “has helped me tremendously. He is always by my side. It is amazing what a dog does for you.”
General George C, Marshall, the administrator credited by many of his colleagues as the best of the military leaders of World War II stated that “The soldier’s heart, the soldier’s spirit, the soldier’s soul, are everything.”
If those are everything then that which sustains all three, including programs like K9s For Warriors, are extraordinarily vital in caring for the soldier when he or she has laid down their arms.