In honor of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) Awareness Month this June, we sat down with one of our remarkable Pups4Patriots™ veterans, Major Andrew, who shared how his service dog Apollo has helped him with the invisible wounds of war. Andrew was a transportation officer and served in the United States Army for 26 years, including overseas deployments to Iraq and Kuwait.
Learn more about his incredible service to our country and how Apollo helps him in the Q&A below!
Can you please tell us a little bit about Apollo and what led you to be matched with a service dog?
I have a good case of PTS and most of it of course was from my deployments. As an Army reservist, I worked for the Massachusetts Probation Service in my civilian life. After my deployments, I began having trouble keeping up with my caseload, as well as having angry outbursts at home and work. So, I started going to the vet center to see a clinician who diagnosed me with PTS. Initially, I didn’t feel justified in having the diagnosis. Although I served in an active combat theater and convoyed throughout the battlespace regularly, I minimized my experiences in-theater. However, after working with my therapist and completing a PTS program that he referred me to, I acknowledged the diagnosis along with those of depression and anxiety.
While I continued working on my symptoms, employment as a probation officer exacerbated my symptoms and I retired from the probation service after nearly 25 years with the agency. Later, I learned about the Pups4Patriots program, applied, and was awarded the opportunity to train with a service dog. I was paired with Apollo and have just fallen in love with him. The Pups4Patriots program and Apollo have truly saved my life.
How does Apollo help you?
It’s interesting how service dogs like Apollo dial in on their humans. He knows when I’m low and not feeling well; he just comes, and he sits, and he puts his head or his paw on my lap. He just seems to know when to come and check in. I really appreciate him.
He is also extremely helpful to me when I leave the house and go into the community. Whether it’s Home Depot, Chipotle, or other places where I can get overwhelmed, he is trained to be a buffer and to provide tactile grounding for me. So, when I get too anxious, he’s there to give me a hug or lean against me (two of the tasks he is trained to perform) to help ground me. Before Apollo, I was relying on my wife or son to come out to places with me but having a dog provides much more freedom.
What would you say to your fellow veterans or retired first responders who are interested in a service dog to help with their PTS?
I would definitely encourage any veteran or first responder who thinks they would benefit from a service dog to apply for one, but to also make sure that they’re ready for the commitment. I would want to know that they are in therapy and mentally able to care for the animal. I’d remind them that they must take care of themselves because the dog is relying on them, which is part of the magic of the pairing, right? It’s a symbiotic relationship. It’s critical and better for everybody when the individual is fully able to care for themselves and their service animal.
How has your experience with American Humane Society been?
I really can’t say enough about the program, I worked with such a great program coordinator, and I felt so confident with the Pups4Patriots trainer – I think they are both exceptional.
The dogs I met were all just wonderful. Apollo is great, and so were the dogs that the other veterans and first responders worked with at the training we completed. I feel that our trainer chose great, well-bred dogs for us, and made excellent pairing choices, too.
To learn more about the Pups4Patriots program, please visit americanhumane.org/what-we-do/care-for-our-heroes/pups4patriots
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