Part 3: Dewy United With Owner & Military Veteran
Over the past few months, we’ve been coming to know Dewy, originally sheltered at San Antonio Pets Alive, but now, he’s been trained to be a service dog to help Felisha, a female veteran living in the San Antonio area. During his training, Dewy has learned about 12 different commands to help Felisha, who suffers from PTSD as a result of her service to the United States.
How Is Dewy Helping Felisha?
Felisha suffers from PTSD, and as a result, symptoms of agoraphobia, or the fear of leaving your home and going into large, crowded spaces. When it came to training Dewy, we wanted to ensure that he was learning things that would help mitigate some of the issues that Felisha experiences as a result of her condition. One of the first commands we taught Dewy was how to create space for Felisha as she goes about her day-to-day life on the streets of San Antonio. Dewy was also trained to help Felisha with night terrors and bad dreams, which are additional symptoms of PTSD. But our work isn’t done yet — we’ll continue training until Felisha is totally comfortable, and Dewy is helping her with the exact issues that she experiences each day.
How Can Service Dogs Help Those Living with PTSD?
Service dogs like Dewy are ultimately around to help those living with PTSD diffuse a negative situation. Through their training, service dogs learn to gauge the stress level of an individual. Ultimately, Dewy will help Felisha overcome stressful situations of any kind by reducing that stress and putting her on the right path to living a normal life.
Need Help Training A Service Dog? Total Dog! Is Here For You
At Total Dog!, one of our specialties is helping train service dogs for individuals in need. No matter what condition you have or problems you face, a service dog can likely help reduce the stress and negative aspects of these issues. To learn more about our Service Dog training, give us a call or contact us online today.
