Program provides service to veterans with PTSD

Dogs go the distance: Program provides service to veterans with PTSD
Mar 4, 2010

By Jennifer Caprioli (USAG Fort Huachuca)


FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. -- For over 40 years Ken Costich, a former Army colonel, has dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Lucien Mason, a former lance corporal in the Marine Corps has also coped with PTSD since he returned from Vietnam, more than 35 years ago.

Both men have endured medical treatment and sought psychological assistance from professionals, and both men are turning to service dogs as a last resort.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is an "anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm occurred or was threatened."

"With all the great care Veterans Affairs has given me, they have not been able to find a medication for anger, depression, anxiety or the nightmares that worked for me," Costich explained.

"Medication works 50 percent of the time. Talk therapy, alone, works 30 percent of the time, and dogs work 84.5 percent of the time," said Alicia Miller, Army veteran and cofounder of Operation Wolfhound. "The dogs are proven effective. It's a much better deal for the veteran because they don't have to worry about the side effects of medication."
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Program provides service to veterans with PTSD