4-H students to help train service dogs for soldiers

Centralia 4-H students to help train service dogs for soldiers
A Washington State University Extension and Lewis County 4-H program will train service dogs to help ease the pain and nervousness of wounded soldiers returning to civilian life.

By Christopher Brewer
The (Centralia) Chronicle

Many soldiers returning from war bring with them injuries and emotional trauma that make it hard to resume the lives they knew before deploying.

But one program the Washington State University Extension and Lewis County 4-H will begin soon aims to make that transition easier for wounded warriors and other disabled people by providing service dogs to help ease their pain and nervousness.

Through the Lewis County 4-H Service Dog Project, willing 4-H volunteers in grades six through 12 will raise and train 12 puppies provided by Brigadoon Service Dogs of Bellingham for use in a variety of daily activities.

The dogs will be trained for constant companionship, says project leader Tim Brix, of Centralia, who will run the program with his wife, Deanna.

"We'll get each kid a puppy and they'll raise them in an environment basically where they will be exposed to everything a human would in their daily lives," Brix said. "They're not just learning to sit down and stay, but they'll be taken throughout the community so they're exposed to different noises, different places. We're thinking these will more than likely be used by veterans who suffer from PTSD."
read more here