Service Dogs for Sexual-Assault Survivors

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/service-dogs-for-sexual-assault-survivors/382560/

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Hera, Alicia's service dog (Courtesy Alicia)

After running away from home at 13, Alicia was pulled into a small-time child-prostitution ring and repeatedly abused until she escaped three years later. The experience left scars, but it wasn’t until she was sexually assaulted again during her junior year of college that she developed post-traumatic stress disorder, causing her to constantly relive her trauma in nightmares and flashbacks.

“I thought I had escaped and it was over,” Alicia says. But the assault “proved me wrong, that this isn't a fresh new happy life from here on out.”

Now 26, Alicia rarely leaves her apartment. After taking a leave of absence from grad school, she lost her student insurance—and with it, the therapy that had been helping her cope. She has been searching wildly for something to fill in, and says she may have finally found it in the form of a Doberman puppy named Hera, who she is training to be her service dog.

Traditionally, service dogs have been used for people who are blind, deaf, or have other physical disabilities. Recently they’ve shown promise for people with psychological ailments as well, including depression, bipolar disorder, autism, and especially PTSD. Preliminary studies from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense suggest that service dogs can benefit traumatized soldiers, who report improvements in their anxiety, sleep, and social skills after working with the dogs.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

1. This is a good thing.

It requires a lot of awareness and education in the rest of us -- restaurants, public transportation and the like -- but a small price to pay.

The dogs can also be taught to sense impending anxiety or epilepsy attacks.

[Aerows]

2. Animals can provide

comfort to people that have learned that people can't be trusted. There is nothing anymore wonderful than an animal that understands and trusts you simply because they love you, and all they ask in return is to be loved.

If I didn't have my cat, I probably would have lost it years ago! I absolutely sleep better when she is piled up on my feet .

[progressoid]

3. Rec!

[Odin2005]

4. K&R