When military veterans and shelter dogs walk together, they both benefit​​

Military veterans(open in new tab) are one group that is disproportionately affected by PTSD. It is estimated that at some point in their life, 7 out of every 100 Veterans (or 7%) will have PTSD.

This mental health condition, triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, can lead to debilitating, long-term symptoms if left untreated.

Human Animal Interaction might lessen the physiological and psychological effects of PTSD veterans, as shown by a study on 33 veterans in Colorado from Florida Atlantic University, the University of Maryland and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Over half of them identified as struggling with PTSD. 

The veterans with PTSD generally experienced improved levels of both physiological stress indicators and perceived stress after walks, both with humans and dogs.

However, the physiological and psychological stress indicators were often better for these veterans when they walked with shelter dogs than when the same veterans walked with other humans

Discover the study(open in new tab)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-military-veterans-shelter-dogs-walk-together-both-rena-crumplen/(open in new tab)