ATLANTA —
Coverage of the chaos in Afghanistan is on 24 hours a day, with constant news updates and developments, but all of that information can trigger those who served in the war.
As a result, veterans who spent time in Afghanistan are struggling and turning to service dogs to help support their mental health.
“It’s unfortunate that we have seen an exponential increase in the demand for service dogs,” said Danique Masingill, the co-founder of Leashes of Valor, a nonprofit that trains service dogs for veterans. “For a 20-year war to come to an abrupt end, it’s causing a mental health impact and we are feeling the consequence of that.”
Masingill said they’re getting the dogs ready as fast as possible to support veterans who are suffering, but that process takes time.
Each dog is trained for two years, and it costs $25,000 per dog.
“These are individual service dogs that are trained for each veteran’s trigger of their PTSD or TBI,” Masingill explained.
Masingill said she’s been flooded with requests from veterans within the last two weeks.
“That dog helps replace that feeling of loneliness,” she added.
RELATED: President Biden signs PAWS Act, allowing VA to fund the training of service dogs for veterans
Recently, Atlanta-based company EPM sponsored a rescue dog in training for Leashes of Valor. The company’s CEO, Eddy Perez, said supporting the organization is key to its mission.
“You get to help people who keep you free, support people in their mental health, and help drive down the veteran suicide rate,” he explained.
Masingill said the recent troop withdrawal from Afghanistan makes the need for a service dog all the more urgent.
“One of the hardest things to deal with is feeling helpless and out of control. Translators and others who helped us, they’re reaching out to people they served with on social media channels. American veterans are getting hit up in desperation for people trying to save their families,” she said.
On Wednesday, President Biden signed the PAWS Act into law, allowing the Veterans Affairs Office to start paying for service dogs for military members.
It’s a pilot program with an investment of $10 million to help pair people who served in the military suffering from PSTD with a service animal to help them.