Special assistance dogs usually help guide
the blind but now some service dogs are helping
disabled veterans who suffer with PTSD. An
interesting twist is that these animals were
raised by inmates in some of our nation’s most
notorious prisons. Reed Galin has more.
SCRIPT:
(Locator: Chicago, Illinois)
Mya is more than just a pet to Chicago’s Jacob
Hyde, a veteran at the age of 26.
Jacob Hyde: “In the Marine Corps, you have
what’s called a battle buddy and you’re never
without another person. You never do anything
alone. Since I’ve gotten Mya, she’s my battle
buddy. I’ve constantly got someone watching my
back.”
Jacob struggles to function in civilian life,
diagnosed with PTSD … post-traumatic stress
disorder.
Jacob Hyde: “It’s hard, it’s an everyday
struggle, sitting on the floor thinking about
cutting myself or wondering how I can kill
myself.”
Mya was trained by an inmate thru a
ground-breaking program called
Puppies Behind Bars. Jacob found the program
online, applied, and was chosen to receive a
dog.
Jacob Hyde: “It was the happiest I’ve ever felt
in my life that night, when I found out she was
going to be my dog.”
Mya learned to do everything from opening and
closing doors to putting groceries in a basket,
even putting laundry in the washer.
Jacob Hyde: “If I feel really bad and I’m having
one of those bad panic attacks on the floor, Mya
goes to the bathroom and gets my pills that are
in a bag and she drags them in here on the
floor. She lays there, puts her paw in my face
and licks me and just licks me until I come out
of it and stop shaking. There’s no limit to what
she can do for me, what she does do for me.”
Jacob Hyde: “Over one million people have served
in Iraq or Afghanistan by the end of this war.
Organizations like Puppies Behind Bars support
our troops by putting service dogs in their
hands and allowing veterans to get thru their
lives and allowing veterans to want to stay
alive.”
Donations help cover the $30,000 cost to train
the dogs. One strong supporter has been the
Rocky Mountain Conference of The United
Methodist Church. Now, with Mya’s help,
Jacob is pursuing a doctorate in psychology,
aiming to help others like him.
Jacob Hyde: “She’s the only way I can get around
in public now, because of her. And if I didn’t
have her, I wouldn’t survive.”
TAG:
There are currently dozens of puppies being trained
in prisons. Since the program’s inception in 1997, 34
puppies have been placed with vets. You can find more
information at
www.PuppiesBehindBars.com.
