Dogs Help Wounded Soldiers Heal

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left many of our soldiers with wounds, both visible and invisible.  But now, service dogs are working to help our men and women in uniform overcome their injuries.  And, in turn, wounded soldiers are training the dogs for future service people returning from battle.  Trained dogs are able to aid the injured in numerous ways.

"They can open refrigerator doors, pick up fallen items unreachable by wheelchair-bound humans and even create hedges of protection around handlers who struggle with anxiety in public places or are easily startled because of symptoms associated with post- traumatic stress disorder.

Some dogs can even read.

And by age 2, they have mastered between 90 and 130 different verbal commands."

The pilot program at Fort Stewart in Georgia is producing "phenomenal" results, according to participants, helping amputees, those afflicted with PTSD, and other disorders.

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