This program is amazing and I can’t thank you all enough…

Just want to start by saying I appreciate this program so much and what all of you have done for us veterans. Throughout the course, I have not only learned that my dog is in tune with me, but I also need to trust myself and my ability to work and become a team with her. There were many struggles that I went through as she is a young lab and has tons of energy.  However, with the help of Tracy and Terry and all the other veteran volunteers, I learned that there are different dog foods that help with the energy and that exercising her before starting to train with her will help burn off that excess energy. Remi and I were already bonded in a way but more as owner and pet not as handler and service dog. Now I feel that she and I have a deeper bond and are more connected.  It brings me a lot of comfort to have her with me as she helps with my anxiety and companionship that you can’t get from another human being.

Remy and I now walk 2 miles in the morning and afternoon weather permitting. I also try to play ball with her as much as possible regardless of the weather just to burn off the excess energy.  Some of the things that we’ve struggled with throughout training has been my patience level.  I have very short patience and I had to be in tune with God and know when it was time to put her in her crate and give her a treat and praise her for the hard work.  Another struggle we ran into was the family dynamics in my household as I have two children (12-year-old and a 14-year-old) as well as my husband. Remi had been a pet for about a year and a half before the start of the program so trying to get them to understand that she is not a pet anymore and is a service dog was challenging.  Another thing we have struggled with is the get close command. Remi for the longest time didn’t like getting under the chair or go between my feet. She now is more open to it and we’re still working with it and it’s nice to see the progress. There have been days where I found it hard to train with Remi because my anxiety or frustration level is so extremely high, and it has nothing to do with her it’s just whatever is going on in my head or maybe in my life.  But I try to at least take her out and exercise her and incorporate some of the training. It seems to help me redirect my thinking and focus on something different then whatever has been bothering me.  If this class was to continue, I would be right there every week.  This class has not only provided me with the knowledge and skills on how to train my dog to assist me, it has also helped me tremendously with some personal things I’ve struggled with for many years as a female veteran. For many years I was married to a man that is also military but that told me I wasn’t worthy of being recognized as a veteran because I was in the Air Force because the Air Force doesn’t do the “real military thing.” For many years in my mind, I have believed those lies, believed that I’m not worthy of being recognized as the veteran that I am. I struggle with accepting it, I struggle with letting people know that I served and that I am a veteran. Coming to this class every week being surrounded and accepted by other veterans and viewed as the veteran that I am has made me feel accepted.  Before, I felt ashamed if I told somebody that I was a veteran and that I had served. Remy and I still have lots of work to do. I need to be more comfortable taking her out in public and with me everywhere. Remi does well, it’s more getting the thoughts out of my head about what people think of me or people not understanding that not all disabilities are visible. PTSD isn’t something that you can necessarily see on somebody.  A lot of the work I feel that needs to be done is with myself.  Remi behaves wonderfully when I take her out and she listens, and she knows her commands.  Remi has helped me realize it is me, it is my brain, and it is getting me to think differently.  I should not worry about those around me as that is where my anxiety has spiked. If she’s not with me she can’t help me, so I really must work on that part. I didn’t train her to stay in the car or stay at home… I trained her to be with me so that she can help me get through times of high anxiety.  I have that when I go out in public as I hate being in the crowds as my anxiety is ridiculously high and I am on constant guard.  I have a lot of work to do on my thinking and realizing that she can’t help me if she’s not with me. Remi has surprised me throughout the training. She is highly trainable and proved that repeatedly. 

This program is amazing, and I can’t thank you all enough for accepting me into it. Thank you for helping me train my dog to become a service dog and for helping me believe in myself.  I wish this program was available to more than just veterans with PTSD. I think there are more veterans out there that could really benefit from training with their dog.