Do Service Dogs Really Help With PTSD?

Army veteran Randy Dexter doesn’t need an academic study to tell him what he already knows — that his service dog, Captain, is the reason he’s no longer the “suicidal mess” he was after returning home from war with PTSD.

Nevertheless, new research backs him up.
A study by Purdue University researchers, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in February, shows veterans who had service dogs to help with their diagnosed cases of PTSD were much better off psychologically than their peers who were on a waiting list to receive an animal.

Vets with service dogs reported a 22 percent higher rate of life satisfaction, as well as similarly increased rates of mental health, resilience and ability to participate in social activities. At the same time, they indicated having fewer PTSD symptoms and lower levels of depression, according to researchers Marguerite O’Haire and Kerri Rodriguez of the Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine, who told Military Times their study uses the largest sample size of any published research on this topic.

The researchers partnered with the nonprofit K9s for Warriors for the study, using self-reported data from 141 veterans who had either received or applied for a dog from the organization. All had unrestricted access to usual care for PTSD during the study.

Dexter, 35, credits Captain with saving him from the isolation and depression he felt before getting a service animal.