HOUSTON – They're family pets and service animals for the disabled, and now man's best friend is taking on a growing role: helping the nation's soldiers and first responders who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The pets are in training for the DAWG Foundation: Dogs Assisting Wounded GIs. It was the idea of former Marine Jeremy Mahon, who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq.
"I personally have had 10 friends that have committed suicide in the past five, six years from post-traumatic stress," said Mahon.
After seeing research showing that service dogs were excellent sources of therapy for PTSD patients, Mahon got the foundation up and running earlier this year.
It takes a special kind of dog to perform the task -- one like Mija, firefighter Bubba Millhouse's service dog.
"She's definitely family," said Millhouse.
Millhouse's PTSD was triggered after a workplace accident. Mija has been trained to detect rising stress levels when Millhouse experiences anxiety -- a common PTSD symptom.
"In the event I don't react to her, then she will literally pull me where she feels is safe and secure, so I can settle down," said Millhouse.
Trainers said dogs that work best with veterans are those that combine a willingness to work with a calm demeanor and a loving heart, like Dooley, a dog that recently began training.
"One of his natural behaviors was to be real lovable and to come up on you and this kind of thing," said DAWG trainer Vickie Bartley.
The goal is for dog to provide a veteran's emotional and sometimes physical needs, and at the same time provide companionship to aid in the healing process.
"We're dealing with a lot of military combat veterans who understand loyalty and understand about having someone that depends on them and that they depend on, too. So it's a battle buddy, it's a good pairing," said Mahon.
From start to finish it can take 6 to 9 months for a dog to graduate and be ready for service for a veteran. The DAWG Foundation's goal is to have at least a half-dozen dogs in service in the next few months.
Training the dogs -- which includes feeding and housing the animals, and transportation for veterans and trainers -- can be costly, and the foundation relies on donations. If you'd like to donate, click here.