# Therapy Dogs in Iraq



## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

The following article is from the February 2008 issue of the "Mercury", the newspaper of the Army Medical Department. Sorry for the long post, but it looks like they don't have this issue on their website yet. I'm copying this from my hard-copy I got in the mail.



> Quote:<span style='font-size: 11pt'><span style='font-family: Book Antiqua'>*Soldier/dog bond opens doors to therapy*
> by Jerry Harben
> 
> Soldiers serving in Iraq have some new "best fiends." Budge and Boe, two black Labrador retrievers, have enlisted to help Soldiers who are dealing with mental-health issues among the stresses of combat.
> ...


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## maxsmom1229 (Apr 12, 2007)

wow, thats just amazing! i hope they make a visit to my husband=] its really amazing the impact an animal can have on a persons mental health and well being. i know my husbands platoon "adopted" a little puppy that they call sarge....and these grown men actually fight to take care of her. i bet it would be a different story if they were at home!! haha thanks for posting this...i dont see enough good coverage coming from this war. it really made me smile.


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## Sasha2008 (Feb 19, 2008)

This post gave me goosebumps....you are so right, it truly is amazing what animals can do for people.

Bogart's Mom


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## ILGHAUS (Nov 25, 2002)

Thanks Chris for the post. 

We just had a discussion about the VetDog group on another forum that I am a member of. Here is a link to the Veteran's K-9 Corps website with pictures --

VetDogs Website 


Looks like VetDogs is enlarging from their original mission of Guide Dogs and Service Dogs into active Therapy Dogs. Now, the hope of some is that they will enlarge their Service Dog program to include Psych Dogs, a group of Service Dogs that is recognized by the DOJ as being true Service Dogs. 

* Remember that Psych Dogs are Service Dogs *IF *they are trained tasks to mitigate a person's disability. Hugging and Kissing, using the dog as an excuse to leave a stressful situation (Excuse me, my dog has to go potty), or as an icebreaker to socilize with other people are not trained tasks that make a dog a Service Dog.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2008)

I saw this article in _Guard_ magazine. Nice of you to pass it on, Chris!


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