When Carter was dropped off at Cowley
County Humane Society by Arkansas City's Animal Control Officer, no one had any
idea that in just a couple of years he would be a certified service dog helping
a U.S. Navy veteran.
Dean Woodson adopted Carter in September
2014.
Woodson is an 18-year Navy veteran who
served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He was diagnosed with post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and suffered from nightmares and balance
issues.
Carter was at the Humane Society for a little over two months before Woodson found him.
After being adopted, Carter underwent
approximately a year and a half of training to become a service dog.
Carter was trained by
Midwest Battle Buddies Inc., a nonprofit organization created to help veterans
to receive certified dogs.
He now is able to sense
if Woodson is suffering from a nightmare and wake him up, increasing the quality
of rest that his owner receives.
“Carter keys off my
endorphins and calms me down when he senses me getting upset,” Woodson said.
“He's changed my life.”
With Carter’s help,
Woodson has traveled to Arizona, California, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New
Mexico, Ohio and Texas.
In the future, Woodson
plans presentations with Carter at schools, to educate children on the roles of
service dogs and how to behave when they meet one.
Midwest Battle
Buddies
Midwest Battle Buddies,
Inc. is a nonprofit that was co-founded by Chip Neumann and Toney Turner to
train service dogs for veterans — at little to no cost to the
veteran.
More than 66,000
veterans in the Wichita area suffer from PTSD and nearly half have applied for a
service dog. There is a two-year waiting list and many veterans are sent out of
state to receive a trained service dog.
“Service dogs are proven
to lower stress, anxiety and the need for medications. Statistics show that
every 63 minutes, a veteran suffering from PTSD commits suicide,” states the
Midwest Battle Buddies website.
“That’s 22 veterans and
one active military person every day. (But) there are no known suicides of any
veteran who owns a service dog.”
Turner has trained dogs
for 20 years and opened Complete K9 in 2009.
