Not everyone knows the true depths that soldiers endure in their line of work. There are many men and women who bravely serve our country, only to come back in need of help themselves.
In order to help returning veterans through their mental health challenges or fitting back into society, there are therapy dogs. For many veterans, having a therapy dog is critical to their being able to cope with civilian life. Not only do these dogs assist the veterans with a variety of tasks and needs, but they also make wonderful companions.
Erick Scott was one veteran who returned from a long 16 years of service showing the emotional scars. In the aftermath of such a long military career with the Army, he was finding it extremely difficult to adjust back into normal life as a civilian. Erick was suffering from survivor’s guilt, coupled with bad anxiety. Over the course of his service, he saw many of his friends pass and while he knew he was lucky, he also couldn’t help but feel pain. He developed post-traumatic stress disorder – waking up from vivid nightmares in a cold sweat. His medication did nothing to provide relief, and soon, his mental health was suffering greatly.
That is when he sought help from the people at K9s for Warriors. He was desperate to try a therapy dog and see if it would help. Erick was matched with Gumbo, and the pair fit like a glove. Gumbo proved to be a wonderful companion and support for Erick. In fact, these two pulled the heartstrings of the internet after a video clip showed exactly how Gumbo assists Erick during one of his panic attacks.
When asked about his PTSD, Erick was very clearly growing upset and distressed. You can see just how Gumbo senses his owner’s needs and immediately went to his rescue, proving that sometimes therapy dogs work way better than medications:
