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Service dog 'makes my life kind of back to normal,' says veteran diagnosed with PTSD
CBC
The period before Mike Richards got his first service dog was a dark chapter in his life.
The military veteran from Saskatchewan had a hard time leaving his house. Richards said he didn't want to be around anyone and he was feeling suicidal.
Richards was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2009.
"At the time, I was trying to get anything to bring my life back to kind of normalcy," he said.
Therapy alone didn't help him. Things changed, though, with the arrival of his first service dog, Sadie, in 2016, and later his second dog, Felix.
"The biggest thing he does, he is a companion," said Richards.
"He's huge for me.… All he wants is food and loving."
Richards was an advisor for a study at the University of Saskatchewan, looking into how the bond with a dog can influence someone's decision to live.
University of Saskatchewan PhD student researcher Alexandria Pavelich looked at the concept of mattering — the need to feel valued by others — and how dogs can provide this personal significance to their human companions.
"The concept of mattering is important to someone's overall mental health and to reduce suicide risk," said University of Saskatchewan sociology professor Colleen Dell, who supervised the research.
"[The dogs] offer this purpose, the sense of belonging in our lives. And what they really do is they're really critical to curbing that sense of hopelessness."
Stories like Richards's about the importance of service dogs and the relationships to their owners are common, said Dell.
However, there has been a lack of research in the field, she added.
In Canada, approximately 11 people die by suicide each day, according to the federal government.
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