Mountain Home VA Medical Center

Joy, a two-year old black lab, has brought many changes to the life of Veteran, Bill. Bill served on active duty in 2003 in the Middle East with the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell. He saw a lot of action during that time and still has those memories.

When this Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veteran returned home, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and it was not always easy leaving the house since he "stayed on alert" after leaving the war. His wife, April, wanted Bill to have a fuller life so she began searching on the Internet and found a program called, "Puppies Behind Bars". This program, launched in 2006, is an initiative to honor and assist wounded OEF/OIF veterans. The program specializes in placing trained dogs with Veterans with PTSD or TBI diagnosis. The dogs are carefully and expertly raised in prison from the age of eight weeks to 18 months and are taught over 80 commands. They are taught to turn on and off lights, dial 911 on a phone, how to look both ways when walking into a room and most importantly for Bill – "how to watch my back."

The application process is strenuous as his wife attests. The organization wants to make sure the Veteran is fully committed to caring for the dog in the long term because getting the dog is just one part. Continuing on-going training and forming a solid relationship with the Service Dog is where the work comes in.

Bill went to Colorado for two weeks' training to learn all the 80 commands and to bond with his dog. He works daily with his dog to keep those skills up. As his wife will tell you, Joy is "Bill's dog." No other person can feed or give commands to Joy. Bill and his wife have two children and the children have their own dog so the temptation to make this Service Dog a pet is removed.

Bill smiles when  the subject of Joy comes up and he said he gets out of the house more because Joy "watches my back." He takes Joy for long walks almost every day and she goes wherever he goes wearing her "Service Dog" vest. The vest alerts the public that this is a working dog and not simply a pet. It allows him to take the dog into public buildings, including restaurants.

Both Bill and his wife are quick to say Service Dogs are not a cure for PTSD, but see it as a tool to help him. Bill and his wife both say Joy has made their life much better and has given Bill more independence.