Andy Canning was a wreck. The Navy veteran, who lives in Centralia, Illinois, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder so debilitating that he often only got just a few hours of sleep every night.
鈥淚 took a hard look at myself in the mirror and realized that I was an angry, tired person that felt more comfortable sitting at home and not going and doing anything,鈥� he explained on Thursday鈥檚 St. Louis on the Air.
His wife wasn鈥檛 content to let that stand. 鈥淲e had to have a long talk about how things need to get better,鈥� Canning admitted.
Lately, things have gotten better. And that鈥檚 thanks to Arkum, Canning鈥檚 service dog.
Arkum was trained by Got Your Six Support Dogs in Maryville, Illinois. Nicole Lanahan, the organization鈥檚 executive director, said Arkum is specially trained to help interrupt and manage Canning鈥檚 PTSD.
鈥淭hey can smell adrenaline,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e also train them to notice generic things like foot tapping, hand-wringing鈥� and other behaviors that may be unique to an individual. Each dog gets 350 hours of training on everything from good behavior in crowds to ferreting out such stressed behavior.
And when they notice it, they鈥檙e trained to interrupt it. By getting their human鈥檚 attention, a trained service dog 鈥減ulls us out of ourselves,鈥� Lanahan said. 鈥淎nd we're going: 鈥極h, we're getting anxious. Now I can do these other things that I've learned to do in my other therapy, like maybe I'm gonna do box breathing, or listen to a song I like.鈥�
鈥淎nd it's so much easier to take that direction from a dog,鈥� she added. 鈥淲hen a dog says, 鈥楬ey, you're getting nervous, relax!鈥� as opposed to a spouse saying, 鈥楬ey, calm down.鈥� Because when a spouse says it, you're like: 鈥楪et out of here. I'm done. Yeah, no, don't tell me to calm down.鈥� But when a dog says 鈥榗alm down,鈥� you're like: 鈥極h, yeah, cool. Thanks, dog.鈥欌��
Studies that service dogs, coupled with therapy, can make a big difference. There鈥檚 only one problem: Far more people need service dogs than organizations like Lanahan鈥檚 can support.
Lanahan said she鈥檚 hoping to double Got Your Six capacity, from 10 dogs each year to 20. But that takes money.
She鈥檚 hopeful it鈥檚 on its way. In August, Congress gave its approval to the , which would provide federal funding for programs like Got Your Six Support Dogs. And in the meantime, Purina is raising money for the work through its .
Canning is proof of the difference a good boy or girl can make. 鈥淚t's made my life a lot better,鈥� Canning said. 鈥淭he confidence to go out in public, to get my sense of purpose back and grow and know that if you put in the work, this is going to be a great pair and you're going to be so much better moving forward than just sitting stagnant and not taking a chance on yourself.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 grateful that his wife gave him the push he needed. 鈥淚t's 100% worth the effort to go through the training and put yourself out there to get help, to reach out for help,鈥� Canning said.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , , and . Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .
