Service dogs help Canadians soldiers with PTSD
Cheap jordans The first thing you retro jordans for cheap price notice about Geoff Logue is his wariness the way he looks around, taking in the scene, noting details. He’s a corporal cheap jordans 4 sale in the Canadian Army who served in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan and came home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Cheap jordans
cheap Air max shoes Everyday routines, like going to the mall, have become an ordeal. The noise airjordanall , the crowds, being exposed in the open with nowhere to hide, all trigger the responses he learned as a soldier. cheap Air max shoes
“I was outside the wire almost every day on missions,” he said. “And you have to watch your surroundings. You have to look for cues, anything that’s suspicious.”
cheap jordans shoes Trained to be suspicious, always watching his back, Geoff hasn’t been able to turn that switch off. But now he has an ally in his battle with PTSD. She is a two year old German Shepherd Lab called Luna. cheap jordans shoes
“She provides that buy air jordans cheap extra security and the comfort level,” he said. “She really helps calm me down.”
cheap yeezys Luna is much more than a pet. She’s one of 37 psychiatric service dogs in a remarkable cheap jordans 2018 program developed in Manitoba by George Leonard, a certified dog trainer who is part of an aboriginal group that has trained more than 350 service dogs of all kinds. cheap yeezys
The American and British military have used dogs to treat PTSD for years. But this program is a first for Canada.
cheap air jordan It’s not just the dogs being trained. The dirt cheap jordans from china soldiers are learning too. And that’s a form of therapy. cheap air jordan
cheap jordans super cheap jordan shoes sale “It’s 24 hour therapy,” real jordans for sale online cheap said Leonard. “And the great thing about a military guy, and this is all 37 guys I work with, is you tell them A B C, you’re going to get A B C. They are actively involved in the training, so they’re training the dog with you.” cheap jordans sale
cheap jordans china Before he got Luna, Geoff Logue’s PTSD threatened to destroy his marriage. He was depressed, on prescription drugs and drinking too much. It got so bad his daughter, Abigail, just a toddler cheap real jordans mens at the time, would try to stop him. cheap jordans china
“She would see me with a beer,” he said. cheap girl jordans for sale “And she would come up and dirt cheap jordans tell where to buy cheap jordan shoes me, ‘Daddy only one more.’ And it was really hard for me.”
It was rough going for a while cheap jordans sale , but when Luna became part of the family, the bond between her and Geoff made life easier.
“They’re inseparable,” said Geoff’s wife, Crystal. “I’ve never seen anybody with a relationship like them. They’re amazing.”
Having a service dog helped another veteran of Afghanistan, Jesse Veltri, dampen the demons of PTSD.
cheap jordans for sale “It’s been really relaxing having her with me,” he said. “I’ve lots to pay attention to. She’s my attention and I don’t have to concentrate on everybody else. My buy cheap jordan shoes online head’s not spinning around in circles like it usually does.” cheap jordans for sale
cheap nike shoes Before he got Farrah, Jesse rarely left his house. cheap nike shoes
cheap jordans online “I didn’t want to be around anybody,” he said. “I was so depressed and so out of it that I just I didn’t care about my life anymore.” cheap jordans online
Drinking and taking heavy cheap retros medication, Veltri’s spiral towards self destruction seemed unstoppable.
cheap air force The aggression he needed to survive as a soldier in Afghanistan just wouldn’t switch off as a civilian at home in Brandon, Manitoba. cheap air force
cheap jordans in china And when he did leave his house, he would go looking for a fight cheap jordans in china
cheap jordans from china “I was actually going out to bars and finding individuals to fight,” he said. “It seemed like the necessary thing to be doing because your adrenaline is pumping so much. cheap jordans from china
Then he got Farrah, a Shepherd Collie mix, and another soldier suggested he should contact George Leonard to have her trained as a service dog.
cheap jordans cheap jordans near me on sale Having a trained dog helped him channel his aggression in a new way and now Jesse is a rising star in Mixed Martial Arts tournaments. cheap jordans on sale
“This dog has made me the calmest person in the world,” he said. “Win or lose. It doesn’t really matter. Because when I cheap jordan 13 go home at the end of the day, she’ll be there waiting for me and she’ll want the same thing, which is, go take me for a walk, give me some food and give me some water and show me some love.”
cheap jordan sneakers It’s such a simple formula. Food, water and love. But the psychiatric cheap jordans for adults service dog program doesn’t come for free. cheap jordan sneakers
cheap jordans free shipping Right now, George Leonard and his cheap air jordan shoes for sale trainers volunteer their time. cheap jordans free shipping
cheap adidas The Canadian Legion and other donors help pay the $1,200 for the custom made vests that identify a cheap real jordans service dog. But the soldiers themselves are on the hook for veterinary care and food. That’s a lot for a veteran on a disability pension cheap adidas
The Departments of National Defence and VAC, Veterans Affairs Canada, both endorse the program, but so far, they’re not willing to pay for it.
“We’re not asking for a whole lot,” said Geoff Logue. “But we cheap childrens jordans shoes have air jordan 1 cheap our dogs for a reason because of our disability, serving for our country.”.
