Guide Dogs for Veterans is one of the many valuable programs offered by The Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation (KNGF). This TV commercial shows the assistance a veteran dog can offer in helping a military veteran who is coping with severe war-related trauma.
KNGF, established in 1935, has been training guide dogs for visually impaired people for more than 75 years and has trained over 5,000 dogs for guide dog users in various parts of the Netherlands. Next to their core business of training guide dogs for the blind, they now also help people with other disabilities, such as PSTD, with a specially trained dog.
“We not only help people who cannot see, but also those who have seen too much.”
The Foundation’s instructors are trained over a period of approximately three years. They are not only taught how to train guide dogs but also how to instruct visually impaired people on working with their guide dogs. This means that their instructors have studied several disciplines such as orientation and mobility of visually impaired people, causes and consequences of the different eye diseases, psychology and first aid. It goes without saying that canine behavior and training are an important part of the studies.
Some of the other programs besides the guide dogs for veterans and for the visually impaired are guide dogs for children with autism and people in wheelchairs.
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Her own animal experience is vast, having raised and rescued Alpine Goats, Chickens, Turkeys, Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, Turtles, Raccoons, Cats, Dogs, and even an Opossum and Bearded Dragon.
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Hey there
My names Joseph. Im an Australian Army Soldier thats only just come out of basic. This touched me sop much thay Id like to help out. Can you please send me a link to the website. I defently want to domate to this worthy cause.
The best thing you can do is to look online for an organization you would like to support. There are so many of them. Search for “guide dogs for veterans” on Google and you’ll see there’s a long list of them. Thanks for your service.
As an occupational therapist I am so intrigued by the PTSD article. I am nationally certified for OT but only n the US. My father is a Vietnam vet. He never speaks of the war- he has blocked it all. That is how he has coped with his life. There are so many men and women that end up under overpasses and out n parks because they can’t handle daily life. The PTSD has them n a vice. I so truly am touched by this article. I would like to pursue avenues to bring this to the people close to home who so desperately need it. If you have contact information that I can use plz pass it along to me. My heart is immensely touched by this. Cat
Thanks for your comment. I don’t really have any inside information for you regarding actual training of these dogs. I found the info for my article by surfing the web. All the best to you. Peace
I’m a veteran and I have ptsd I’m disabled from it I would love to have a dog a buddy a friend that would be there for me when no one else is thank you for whst you do because I live it everyday
I’m sorry to hear that you live with this every day, Anthony. It’s such a terrible thing. I hope you will look into finding a buddy for you. Do a Google search to see if there’s something in your area. Take care. Don’t be a stranger.
Hi love this ,l am Ex-Army with PTSD and know w
How scary and really it is waking up in the middle of the night
I’m glad you enjoyed my post, Andy. I suffer from anxiety at night, so I have an inkling of what you might go through. I wish you peace and all the help you might need. Thank you for visiting my site today.
Is there a program like this in the US?
Oh, I’m pretty sure there is, Sarah, but I don’t know the particulars. If you Google it you will come up with a lot of information. Thanks for stopping by!
Everyone who served our country truly needs all the care and support they get. Most of them do suffer from PTSD and having dogs to help and guide them is one of the best ideas I’ve seen! Dogs love unconditionally and can be trained to support their owners regardless of their challenges/issues.
I have watched these dogs working in the U.S. owned by friends of mine. Years ago some friends and I trained one to work with my wheelchair. Because she wasn’t properly trained she ended up with a death sentence. The area of training we overlooked was working around drunks. She bit one, drew blood and was shot by the police.
The moral of the story is get a professionally trained animal if you need one.