Post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t limited to humans

One of many military working dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Photo: U.S. Army

Gina, a dog trained to sniff out bombs in Iraq, is being treated for trauma.

Gina came home after a six-month tour of duty in Iraq broken, trembling in fear of everything and suffering from severe PTSD. Gina was a playful two-year-old German shepherd when deployed. Now she’s a casualty of war on the mend.

Her job in Iraq was to go on door-to-door searches and sniff out bombs. She was exposed to loud noises, flash-bang explosions and experienced having a vehicle in a convoy in which she was traveling blow up.

On her return, her handlers described her as stiffening her legs and balking when asked to enter a building. After entering she would cower, tuck her tail underneath her and hide under furniture.

"She showed all the symptoms and she had all the signs (of PTSD)," said Master Sgt. Eric Haynes, the kennel master at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. "She was terrified of everybody and it was obviously a condition that led her down that road."

Gina was diagnosed with PTSD by a military veterinarian, a condition that canine experts say can afflict dogs in the same or similar ways humans are affected, but some veterinarians disagree.

"There is a condition in dogs which is almost precisely the same, if not precisely the same, as PTSD in humans," said Nicholas Dodman, head of the animal behavior program at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

But some veterinarians are loathe to apply the diagnosis to animals; they feel it demeans servicemen and women, Dodman said. He added that in no way does he mean any offense to military personnel when he uses the term PTSD.

With loving care and almost angelic patience, military handlers are coaxing and nursing Gina back to good mental health.

Haynes described her progress as "outstanding," while Staff Sgt. Melinda Miller, who has handled Gina since May said, "She makes me look pretty good. Pretty fabulous, actually."

Gina is coaxed to go on walks while someone walks ahead giving strangers treats to give her. Handlers were able to get Gina to go through doors again by having someone she knew on the other side and reward her with petting and playing. The same technique was used to get her to further explore the buildings.

"She started learning that everyone wasn't trying to get her," Haynes said. "She began acting more social again."

She’s progressed to the point that on a recent visit to the Post Exchange, she calmly trotted down the aisles and sat quietly when a female shopper stopped to pet her.

"She's such a lovable dog," Miller said, as she described how the 61-pound Gina will lie in her lap. "I could literally hold this dog like a baby."

Although Gina has resumed some of her duties by searching cars for explosives at Peterson and other military facilities in the area, it’s questionable if she’s ever able to return to hazardous duty, or go to Iraq again, which could be a year or more in the future, Haynes said.

“We're not planning on doing it anytime in the near future because obviously, we don't want to mess up everything we've already fixed," he said.

Dodman expressed doubts that Gina can ever completely recover.

"It's a fact that fears once learned are never unlearned," Dodman said. "The best thing you can do is apply new learning, which is what (Gina's handlers are) doing," he said.

"Anytime someone has that much fear about anything, then obviously it will be hard just to get it fixed," Haynes said. "But, I mean, we don't really have many other options," he said. "You can't really give up on them. They're your partner."

The U.S. military began sending bomb-sniffing dogs to Iraq in February to aid in the detection of explosives. About 150 dogs will have been sent to Iraq by year's end.

Editor’s note: Gina has served her country well. Time and money has been invested in her training. She came back from serving in Iraq severely traumatized, but since returning, she has made an amazing recovery. She should never be sent back; it could only be terribly detrimental to her health, and she might never be able to overcome being retraumatized. She can serve the military and the American people very well right here at home, as she’s proving now that she can.