Veteran discusses Heart of Gold
BY JIM BISSETT
Courtesy of The Dominion Post
Jim Brennan’s service dog, Stryker, watches during a presentation at the WVU Health Sciences Center. Photo courtesy of William Wotring/The Dominion Post
OK, so Jim Brennan didn’t necessarily look nervous when he positioned himself in front of that classroom in WVU’s Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, on Friday afternoon. But Stryker knows how deep those waters can go. That’s why the 4-year-old golden retriever took up a position of his own. He rested his head and snout on the top of Brennan’s foot and draped a paw over his leg. It looked like a classic study of lazy, canine repose. Except, it wasn’t.
That’s because Stryker was working the whole time. “See, that’s what he does,” Brennan said. “He knows that I’m a little bit nervous right now. What he’s doing, is calming me down.” Which is precisely what the pup was trained for by WVU. Four-legged alum Stryker is a product of the Hearts of Gold service dog training program, which is part of the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Now 54, Brennan had decades of emotional turmoil before the dog came along.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force right after he graduated high school in his native Princeton. Brennan never saw combat, but he was in several stressful deployments. He lost his best friend in Somalia and was part of units that had to clean up after deadly plane crashes—often knowing that other buddies had been on board. The airman was also part of an elite honor guard that presided over countless military funerals. And while he was proud to pay his respects in that formal, regimented way, to carry out such duties also meant standing at attention in death’s shadow.
The Grave’s Disease didn’t help. He had been in the service for about two years when he was diagnosed with the immune system disorder that happens when the body overproduces thyroid hormones —which, in turn, doesn’t just cause physical maladies. Brennan’s emotions were also raging, as a result of the hormone overload. He was easily startled. He fainted, on more than one occasion. He was prone to valleys of depression and peaks of risky behavior. The once easy-going West Virginian was transformed to a fly-off-the-handle guy, ready to rage at a moment’s notice. “I embarrassed a lot of people, ” he said. “I embarrassed myself.” The military doctors finally diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder—on top of the Grave’s Disease—but their prescriptions of powerful anti-depressants and other mood-altering medications only made his medical condition worse, he said. He was spiraling down like a Marcellus shale drill bit, he said, when he learned about Hearts of Gold. Brennan applied for the program, took classes on campus as all applicants are required to do, then found himself paired up with Stryker. “That’s when I took my last Valium,” he said.
Jim Brennan talks about his service dog, Stryker, during a presentation at WVU. Photo courtesy of William Wotring/The Dominion Post
Doggie on the job
Stryker, he said, is dialed in to his psyche. If he catches himself getting agitated or uncomfortable in public, the pooch mobilizes. “When I get that way, I start talking fast and my voice gets loud. My arms start going everywhere. Stryker’ll tap me with his nose, or he’ll do what he’s doing now. He keeps me grounded.” That’s why he and Stryker were on campus Friday. They were there to simply show how it worked. “They’re a success story,” said Jean Meade, a Davis College professor and proponent of service dogs who co-founded the Human-Animal Bond, a nonprofit group that works closely with Hearts of Gold. Inmates at Morgantown’s Robert F. Kennedy Federal Correction Institution train the dogs for Hearts of Gold, along with students enrolled in WVU’s pre-veterinary program. A lot of it, Meade said, entails simply listening—even if it’s a business of getting sometimes rambunctious puppies to respond to commands. Brennan said his doctors never really listened to him, and Meade made that a cautionary tale for the handful of mostly medical students who came out on the rainy afternoon for the program. “You need to really, really communicate with your patients,” she said. “You have to listen to what they’re really saying.”
Stryker’s students
Danielle Sandy was doing a lot of listening. She’s a 21-year-old WVU psychology major who diagnosed with Grave’s Disease as a teenager. Once a star gymnast, she couldn’t walk down a hallway without feeling winded. Crying jags were a regular occurrence, she said. “I was lucky, though,” said Sandy, who came out for the program and will eventually train a service dog through Hearts of Gold. “My parents and my doctors were really on top of it, once we got it figured out.” Sandy plans on studying social work in graduate school at WVU. Then, she’ll return to her native Parkersburg and incorporate service dogs as part of her field work. “I can’t think of a better way to help people,” she said.
Up in the front of the classroom, Stryker gave a tail-wag and saluted Brennan with his snout while the man nuzzled his ears. “I mean, look where I am,” Brennan said, smiling down at his best friend. “I’m at West Virginia University, talking to y’all. Before, I was hiding behind the shades in my house.”
No Longer Behind Enemy Lines Josh Walker Battles PTSD with Service Dog Baxter
Veteran Josh Walker of 101st Airborne questioned PTSD existence for six years before seeking treatment.
Before his dog Baxter changed his life, Josh Walker was suffering from night terrors. In 2005, Walker was deployed to Iraq as a cavalry scout in the 101st Airborne, enduring ambushes and firefights. The nightmares started when he returned home, along with hallucinations, fits of anger, and fear. He’d slam on the brakes when he was driving, thinking a roadside object was an IED. It took him six years to accept that he was suffering from PTSD, despite the concerns of his fiancé and family. But denial, he says, is common for many combat veterans. “If somebody I respect could accept it, maybe there was some truth to this PTSD thing.”
“If you’re suffering from PTSD, it means you weren’t strong enough.”
“You’re trained that if something is wrong with you—physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally—then you’re worthless to the unit,” says Walker, 34. “So if you’re suffering from PTSD, your mentality is that you can’t admit it because it means you weren’t strong enough. “The well-meaning reactions of people at home can also be problematic. “People buy you drinks and pat you on the back and thank you for your service,” he says. “So for you to say, ‘I’m actually struggling really bad, I’m not sleeping, I’ve got anger issues, stress, depression’—it feels like it would devalue your contribution and sacrifice.”
His attitude finally changed when he read a blog by a Special Forces combat veteran about his service dog and his experiences with PTSD. “I thought, ‘If somebody I respect could accept it, maybe there was some truth to this PTSD thing.’” He eventually entered a pilot program at West Virginia University—where he was taking classes—for PTSD service dog training. That’s how he met Baxter, the Golden Retriever who changed his life.
“Baxter came barreling toward me and plowed me over and kept licking me and I was like, ‘OK, this is the one,’” he says.
Walker and then eight-month-old Baxter joined a Hearts of Gold training class and worked together for about 18 months. They’ve lived together for nearly four years.
“Living with Baxter reduces anxiety and stress.”
“He helps me sleep better,” says Walker. “Having him present reduces anxiety and stress. So if you’re at a restaurant or any big crowded space where normally you might be a little stressed, the dog diverts your attention from the anxiety. Just as the dog takes care of you, you need to take care of the dog.”
Baxter recently turned five, and he and Walker share the same birthday: July 28. In January 2017, Walker started his own branding and marketing firm, Recon Media in Plymouth, Indiana, which offers services ranging from web development to video content production (you can even sign up for emails and selfies from Baxter). Baxter is a frequent presence in the office.
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“Clients love him,” says Walker. “You can’t see a dog like Baxter and not feel better. When he’s walking by your side and licking you and making you laugh and putting his paws across your feet—it calms you down.” These days, Baxter provides comfort for everyone, from Walker’s wife Amy to their new baby girl. “We had the baby about six weeks ago, and if she cries, he gets worried. He makes us all feel better. He’s a constant in my life and my family’s life.”
Ken Budd’s writing credits include The New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian, CityLab, The Washington Post, AARP The Magazine and many more. He writes the “Everyday Heroes” column for The Saturday Evening Post and he’s the author of the award-winning memoir The Voluntourist. Ken’s work has won gold awards from the Society of American Travel Writers and the North American Travel Journalists Association. He has appeared on programs such as NBC’s Today, The CBS Early Show, and CBS This Morning, and he’s the host of 650,000 Hours, a new digital series that will debut in 2019. You can follow Ken on Twitter and Facebook.