- Just kind of hard to talk to people for a long time
'cause...
like, I don't know, like
it's nobody's fault, you know, but...
...like, in a way, I was just completely angry
with everybody really.
- If you go out into the ocean one day
and you get attacked by a shark,
can you think about ever going back out
into that ocean again?
And enjoying the experience?
To me, that's going outside of my front door.
- I think we all have that turning point in our life
where it comes down to
almost losing everything and everyone
that's important to you
before you finally say,
maybe it's time for me to look into getting some help.
[soft music]
[background conversations]
- You did really good.
- See his ears pinned? - Mm-hmm.
- He knows something's going on
but he's listening to you.
My name is Sarah and I am the CEO and founder
of Patriot Canines of Wisconsin.
We are a service dog program
that helps and trains
certified service dogs for military veterans
diagnosed with PTSD, traumatic brain injury,
and/or military sexual trauma, or any of the combination.
We pair shelter dog and veteran
and we bring them back once a week,
an hour-and-a-half for six consecutive months.
- For the last couple of years, I've been talking
with my husband about the possibility
of getting a service dog,
but it's hard of you to uproot your life for three months
to go train with your dog.
Between the husband, kids, and work,
I mean how do you manage all that?
So, the fact that they're local was number one
and the fact that they're so friendly
and I mean just willing to teach
and work with you and your dog.
- See how we're all laughing and what are they doing?
- They're just chilling. - They're behaving
because you're not worried about it.
Only about 1 in 50 dogs
can make the cut to be a service dog.
And we've gotten them from the local Humane Societies
around the surrounding counties
when the right dog comes in and then they give us a call.
We're saving two lives at once.
You look at the statistics rate,
22 veterans per day nationwide approximately
commit suicide because of their disability,
and we're bringing in a shelter dog.
We're giving them both a second chance.
They're starting that bond from day one.
And they're also developing something that
you just can't create in a week or two.
Our program,
we train you and we train your dog together.
- It's an amazing opportunity,
to one, be the one to train him.
It's really helped strengthen up our bond together.
- They're trained to do deep pressure therapy.
They're trained to do tasks to protect and alert
from behind.
And then, the end is all public access work.
We do public buildings, we do elevators,
we do city transportation, we do stores.
And you are focusing on trying to find
what you need to find,
but you also have to be aware
of what your canine is telling you.
It can smell, it can sense, it picks up on everything.
And it starts coming in and working.
- He can tell when I'm starting to get anxious
or when there's something that is coming,
like, I'm going to have flashbacks or an episode.
He automatically come close to me
or he'll, at the house,
when I'm having a little hard time, he'll come
and put his legs on top of me, like, "Hey."
You know?
- One of the things that's good for you as a veteran
is that he's responsive to you.
That sort of teamwork mentality.
It really sets in well
with the mentality of a veteran.
- Leave it. Good job, boy.
- Approximately 94% of veterans
on alternative therapies service dogs
are showing exponential growth
and reduction in either chemical therapies that they need to use
and/or social and psychological therapies.
We interject fun and we interject relaxation
and they start warming up and they start developing
a camaraderie for each other and within the group.
- And I've also come to find that even before coming here,
it's like the anxiety levels are a little higher.
And as soon as we get into training, it all melts away.
- After 11 years of being in therapy
and anger management groups and all kinds of stuff,
honestly, this is like--
It's like a miracle pill, you know?
Like,
all of a sudden I can do things that they talked about
in therapy, but I never thought I could do, you know?
- It's like having the old Jen back, when she was little,
there was this joy of life and everything else,
and now I feel like we're getting that back.
The pre-Iraq Jennifer and that's been huge
for all of us actually.
- He engages people in conversation with me.
It's starting to happen so much more naturally now.
I'm able to have a lot more sleep,
which is giving me a more stable, kind of, day.
He's...
He's changed my life.
- If you have the opportunity to do this,
do it
because the truth is, you're not broken.
You have a lot to offer, you know?
(soft music)