A new report funded by the Veterans’ Foundation’s Operation Lifeline has proved the positive effect support dogs have on heroes battling combat trauma.
The research, conducted by Edinburgh Napier University, focused on the work of the Bravehound charity, which provides assistance dogs to military veterans with PTSD. According to the university’s Centre for Military Research Education & Public Engagement (CMREPE), dogs can have a 'life-saving impact' on veterans in need.
The latest statistics on veteran suicide state that as many as five ex-servicemen and women take their own lives every week. Assistance dogs can help to reduce those numbers.
Lead author and CMREPE Director, Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith, said: “It is very brave for a charity to open itself up to an independent evaluation. Our research demonstrated that assistance dogs can have a profound, and in many cases lifesaving, impact on veterans as they adapt to life after service.
“The testimonies we gathered were deeply moving, with many veterans describing how Bravehound’s support restored a sense of purpose, structure, and stability at times when they felt most vulnerable.”
The newest dog to arrive at Bravehound has been named Theo after service dog THEO DM, who died of a seizure just hours after his handler, Corporal Liam Tasker, was killed in Afghanistan. Liam’s mother, Jane Duffy, was delighted by the news of the young assistance dog and sees it as an honour that her son is being remembered in this positive way.
Bravehound Founder and CEO Fiona MacDonald said, “This report is such an important step for us. We are incredibly grateful to the Veterans’ Foundation for commissioning it, who are longstanding supporters of our work, and to Edinburgh Napier University for carrying it out. Hearing from veterans who have been partnered with our Bravehounds makes me so proud of our team, from our trustees, staff and volunteers to our funders and supporters.”
Header picture by Phil Wilkinson / Bravehound.
