JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Erick Scott had just been paired up with his service dog, a black lab named Gumbo, for a couple weeks at K9s for Warriors. Scott, an army veteran dealing with PTSD, was sitting in a chair doing an interview for Operation Orion.
Scott had placed Gumbo in a down position, and, like the other service dogs at K9s for Warriors, Gumbo was obeying 100 percent. He wasn’t moving an inch.
But then Scott began to describe how he was diagnosed with PTSD. He says at first he didn’t believe the doctors and used “ugly words” when they told him his medical issue. He would tear up their written reports.
All of the sudden, Gumbo — on his own– stood up and broke his down position. He got up on Scott’s lap and started nudging his face, eventually licking Scott.
Scott spontaneously stopped his interview and said that he didn’t realize he was getting “agitated,” but Gumbo picked up on it. The distraction from his dog enabled Scott to change gears.
Scott says he called his wife and told her he was “amazed.”
It’s actually a huge step for Scott. It’s proof to him, as K9s for Warriors founder Shari Duval points out, that it is possible for the veterans to “hit the reset button.” They can learn to work with their service dogs and discover a panic attack or high anxiety developing before it gets out of hand.
In some cases, the dogs are even preventing suicide.
A few weeks ago, another veteran called K9s for Warriors and explained what happened to him the night before. He’s opted out of identifying himself to First Coast News, which, of course, we respect.
He had graduated from K9s for Warriors on the First Coast and was back home with his service dog, a black lab. He was having an especially rough night with his PTSD and decided to end it all.
He says he went to his closet to get his gun but then his dog sensed something was wrong. The lab kept bothering him and bothering him on purpose, even tearing at his boxer shorts.
The veteran says he put down his gun and decided not to commit suicide because he realized his dog needed him. He was grateful to the K9s for Warriors program and his dog for saving his life.
According to the VA, a veteran commits suicide in the U.S. every 65 minutes.
Operation Orion is trying to raise money for K9s for Warriors. If you’d like to donate, go to https://k9sforwarriors.donorpages.com/MyEvent/FCNOperationOrion/ or www.supportdogs.org
Whatever you give before January 1, 2015, the Weaver Family Foundation will double.
