Golden Retriever Watches Over PTSD Veteran on Job as Paramedic

Local service dog rides in ambulance to help her owner cope with PTSD
ABC 13 News
Lisa Guyton
November 2,016

TOLEDO (13abc Action News) - You've no doubt seen service dogs providing all kinds of help to people around the community. But Star is probably the first of her kind in our region She rides around in a ProMedica ambulance, helping her owner as he battles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

Star is a one-year-old Golden Retriever, Labrador mix. She's only been on the job for a few weeks but she has already had a big impact on the man she was trained to help.

Louis Belluomini is a ProMedica paramedic. Before this career, he was in the Army for nine years. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, "I think the majority of veterans have PTSD to some extent."

Louis says he was diagnosed with PTSD after his first tour. Medicine is what helped him at first, now it's Star, "She's woken me up from nightmares sometimes two and three times a night. She senses when something is off, when it's not right."

Louis says one of the other important things Star does is protect his personal perimeter, "As members of the military we are trained to watch our back and our partner's back. By having her I don't have to ever worry that someone is behind me because she is always watching behind me."
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