Article

2011-12-02 Afghanistan

The call came into the behavior specialists here from a doctor in Afghanistan. His patient had just been through a firefight and now was cowering under a cot, refusing to come out.

Apparently even the chew toys hadn't worked.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, thought Dr. Walter F. Burghardt Jr., chief of behavioral medicine at the Daniel E. Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base. Specifically, canine PTSD.

If anyone needed evidence of the frontline role played by dogs in war these days, here is the latest: the four-legged, wet-nosed troops used to sniff out mines, track down enemy fighters and clear buildings are struggling with the mental strains of combat nearly as much as their human counterparts.

By some estimates, more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing canine PTSD. Of those, about half are likely to be retired from service, Dr. Burghardt said.

Posted by tipper 2011-12-02 00:50|| || Front Page|| [11136 views ] Top

#1 I wonder how much per hour the government will spend for doggie psychiatry.

Posted by gorb 2011-12-02 14:29|| 2011-12-02 14:29|| Front Page Top

#2 Don't forget the gooney birds, so traumatized by the Battle of Midway, that only a million or so remain alive.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-12-02 14:38|| 2011-12-02 14:38|| Front Page Top

#3 Dogs do suffer anxiety. They are much more emotional than most people realize.

Posted by Deacon Blues 2011-12-02 16:58|| 2011-12-02 16:58|| Front Page Top

#4 Most dogs are meant to be friends of man, not enemies of man.

The Human Soul is innately good, it is the job of Drill Sergeants + Armies to make them innately evil, so to speak, in order to win battles wars.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2011-12-02 22:33|| 2011-12-02 22:33|| Front Page Top

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