At the end of 2023, things were looking bleak for Tim Cleveland, a military veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “I was basically at the end of my rope,” he says. “I had been suicidal in the past, was feeling really depressed, and I was tired of meds and going to counseling—it didn’t seem to be working.” But in March 2024, all that changed. Hope and healing came in the form of a “goofy” 80-pound yellow Labrador Retriever named Chips.
With the results of a new national study providing more proof of the power of service dogs for veterans with PTSD, the hope is that this will lead to more people being able to benefit from these positive partnerships.
Service Dogs Are Underutilized Life Savers
Most dog owners are aware of their pet’s mood-boosting abilities and the support service dogs provide to people with physical disabilities. However, despite strong anecdotal evidence, the effectiveness of trained service dogs for veterans with PTSD is understudied. This means that, currently, support is limited.
“No medical insurance company will cover the costs associated with acquiring and caring for a service dog,” Sarah Leighton, PhD Candidate with the OHAIRE Group and first author of the paper, says. “The Department of Veterans Affairs provides benefits for many types of service dogs but has hesitated to extend support to service dogs for PTSD.” For veterans for whom a service dog is an option, waitlists are around two years—a long time when getting through one day is a struggle.
“Our goal was to conduct an empirically robust clinical trial at the same level of scientific rigor as clinicians would want to see for any health intervention,” Dr. Maggie O’Haire, principal investigator on the study and Associate Dean for Research at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, says. The study was conducted in collaboration with K9s For Warriors. This nonprofit organization is the nation’s largest provider of trained service dogs for military veterans with PTSD and other invisible wounds of war.
Leighton says they hope that providing policymakers, clinicians, and the public with this scientific research will “pave the way for increased access to service dog programs and help improve these same programs, benefiting both recipients and the broader community.”
Study Supports the Push For Policy-Level Reform
Leighton spent a decade working at a nonprofit service dog organization. “I heard and saw first-hand how these partnerships were changing people’s lives,” she says. “One of our clients went from rarely leaving his room, for months at a time, to having the confidence to visit Disneyland with the assistance of his service dog.” However, this type of anecdotal evidence isn’t enough to bring about legislative changes.
The National Institute of Health funded this pioneering clinical study involving over 150 military veterans with PTSD. One group of 75 veterans only had access to the usual avenues of care for the disorder, and the other 81 veterans also received a trained psychiatric service dog. The study authors and investigators analyzed self-reported symptoms and expert clinician assessment over a three-month period.
Leighton says that the results provide powerful evidence to support service dog partnerships for veterans with PTSD. “We saw significantly better outcomes in the service dog group in nearly every area we measured,” she says. “Service dog placements were associated with 66% lower odds of a clinician PTSD diagnosis; lower PTSD severity, anxiety, and depression; less social isolation and higher companionship, but lower participation in activities; and higher quality of life.”
Lends Weight to the Work of Organizations Like K9 for Warriors
Tim’s partnership with Chips began when K9s For Warriors paired them up for an intensive 21-day, in-person training program. Since its founding in 2011, the organization has made over 1,000 successful pairings. They’ve also rescued over 2,000 dogs and found forever homes for those who don’t pair up in the program.
However, while they offer the service at no cost to veterans, training each dog takes six months and costs $55k to $75k. The organization’s waitlist is 18 to 24 months long. These challenges come into sharp focus when you hear reports estimate an average of 17 veterans take their own lives daily and more than one million have PTSD, a traumatic brain injury, or sexual trauma.
“This important study further legitimizes [that] what we do here at K9s For Warriors works,” Dani Bozzini, a spokesperson for the organization, says. They believe this study could be a helpful tool for securing further funding, creating meaningful policy-level reform, and ultimately helping to change and save more lives.
Building a Beautiful, Beneficial Bond
Tim is in no doubt about the lifesaving benefits of a service dog partnership as a veteran with PTSD. Before attending the K9s For Warriors program, he faced doubts about whether it was the right decision. “Back in October, my nephew passed away; he died by suicide, and that really sent me into a downward spiral,” he says. “I was so depressed, I didn’t care if I lived or died.” It was the push he needed to take his place in the program.
Since then, Chips has become Tim’s best friend, and he says the dog’s support has made a huge difference to his PTSD symptoms. He says the loveable and laid-back Lab helps him feel more joy in his heart, happiness, and confidence. “This dog has really saved my life,” he adds. Chips senses when Tim is anxious or depressed and performs a trained task to interrupt that anxiety and prevent it from becoming panic, providing deep calming pressure.
Chips also helps Tim feel more comfortable when he leaves the house. “At first, I was leery of going into public with him because of people staring,” he says. However, “it actually opens up doors because I’m kind of an introvert, and people will come up and start talking to me about the dog.” As part of Chips’ training, he learned a social greeting task called “make a friend,” which helps facilitate less anxiety-inducing introductions for Tim.
And it’s not just Tim who Chips has won over. He was worried about how his other dogs would be with him, especially his Yorkshire Terrier, who rarely likes other dogs. “But he loves him; I think he has a man crush and follows him around everywhere,” says Tim. Intuitive Chips also supported Tim’s daughter, who had postpartum depression after the birth of her twins. “He would go up to her and put his head on her lap or lay next to her,” he says.
Continuing to Amplify Veteran’s Voices Through Science
O’Haire recognizes that each individual’s care needs are unique. “Service dogs aren’t a cure, and they won’t be right for everyone,” she says. Plus, when they are helpful, it’s often alongside other forms of support, such as talk therapy and medication. However, she says they’re excited to share these significant outcomes and are actively taking steps to confirm these findings in a gold-standard randomized design.
“Next, we’ll investigate how service dog partnerships combine with evidence-based, frontline PTSD treatments through a Department of Defense (DOD)-funded randomized clinical trial,” O’Haire says. “Specifically, we’ll learn whether trained service dogs can help veterans overcome the stresses and challenges that are involved in Prolonged Exposure therapy, to increase treatment completion, and achieve better health outcomes.”
Ultimately, O’Haire and the team want to understand more specifics of whom and under what circumstances service dog partnerships are most effective. As with the previous study, they expect the most rewarding aspect will be working with the participants and hearing their stories. “Veterans and their families trust us with their lived experiences, and we are honored to amplify their voices through science,” she says.