Local veterans take part in study on the impact of emotional support and service dogs with those who suffer from PTSD

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - The Iowa City VA Health Care System was one of three sites representing a congressional-mandated required research request to study the impact of service dogs on PTSD relative to emotional support/companion dogs. While emotional support animals are becoming far more normalized, many are learning the difference between the training those animals go through, and the training required for “service” dogs. That’s just one key highlight in the findings of this study involving area veterans, and their furry companions.

While it started nearly ten years ago, Dr. Thad Abrams and his team say one participant still sticks out in his mind.

“This was an individual who purposely moved out into the country to avoid interactions with other individuals, found large groups to be very triggering and anxiety-provoking,” said Dr. Abrams.

In an effort to research new and improved ways to treat veterans with PTSD, they compared the impact of service dogs versus companion, or emotional support dogs.

“When we performed an examination with a clinician, around 24% of those with service dogs no longer met the criteria with PTSD vs. 28% with the emotional support group,” said Dr. Abrams.

Besides the statistical differences, it was also pointed out that, unlike service dogs, emotional support animals are not expected to perform specific tasks.

“Going out in public with a dog that has been trained to interrupt increasing anxiety, gives them the confidence and security to go out in public again and start doing those necessary trips that we all have to the doctor’s office and the grocery store,” said Co-Founder of Deafinitley Dogs, Lorette Vanourney.

With both types of dogs, Dr. Abrams said they saw a massive decline in the harsher symptoms of PTSD.

And if that wasn’t reason enough for him to want to continue seeing this type of treatment used, the advances that *one* patient made by the end of the study is.

“They were able to attend their daughter’s wedding, which prior to receiving the animal was sort of an impossibility in his mind,” said Dr. Abrams. “He’ll tell you it changed his life in terms of the experience.”

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