Michael Ye
The National Institutes of Health reports that animal-assisted therapy, or pet therapy, can help veterans suffering from PTSD and may even help prevent suicide. The New York Times reports that suicide rates continue to rise among veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury, with an average of 20 people committing suicide each day.
But according to the Times, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is opposed to funding a program that provides veterans with service dogs to treat PTSD.
PTSD is a trauma- and stressor-related disorder caused by experiencing one or more traumatic events. People diagnosed with PTSD suffer from negative moods, periods of depression or anxiety, angry outbursts or reckless behavior, and insomnia. In addition, they may become susceptible to drugs and alcohol, withdraw from relationships and ties with others, avoid public places and strangers, and withdraw from the general public.
Philip LaVarria, an Army paratrooper veteran who studied therapy at York University and completed more than 30 jumps during his military career, said he suffered a traumatic brain injury and developed PTSD during and after his deployment to Iraq.
“My ex-fiancé left me when I was still deployed, so it was really hard,” Rabaria said. “I was in my second month of deployment and still had about seven or eight months left. It was hard, and I had suicidal thoughts.”
According to the 2023 National Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report, the national average has the highest suicide rate among those ages 18-34, while in New York the highest suicide rate is among those ages 55-74.
Antonio Velazquez, a Marine Corps veteran majoring in marketing at York University, teared up when asked if he knew anyone who suffered from PTSD and committed suicide. “Sadly, there have been a few stories of that happening,” Velazquez said. “He was a very young guy, a little older than me, a happy-go-lucky guy, he had a wife and kids, and it caught everybody off guard.”
Former US President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, campaigned for the Puppies Helping Injured Service Members (PAWS) Act, a bipartisan bill that would have paired veterans with service dogs to help owners deal with fear, stress and anxiety, but the bill never made it to a vote.
VA officials opposed the bill because they believed that veterans would be entrusted with their health on treatments that have not been proven to work, resulting in unintended adverse effects. Additionally, the VA supported the use of evidence-based medicine, which is treatments that have been proven to work.
Ms. Lavallia, who has three cats, said, “When I’m with my pets, I don’t think much about deployment. I think about when they were still kittens, and all the bad thoughts disappear.”
Velazquez has three dogs and one cat. “I have a lot of animals in my house, so I do a lot of research on them and get to know their tendencies,” she said. “I actually saw a cat comfort my sister when she was injured. Dogs are really compassionate.”
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America campaigned for the Clay Hunt American Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, which became law in 2015. The bill would have made it easier for veterans to access outside evaluations for PTSD, TBI, and other mental illnesses without waiting for professional help from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I help veterans make the transition from military to civilian life and help them adjust to college life,” said Larry Eaton, director of veterans affairs at York University. “I’m very involved with the students and making sure they have everything they need, as well as those coming in from the community. With the suicide rate, it’s just about increasing the services available to them and giving them an outlet so they can talk to someone and have the resources to do so.”
