Tag: assistance dog

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 […]

Hearts of Gold Service Dogs Inspire and Heal at West Virginia University

Thinking about Fostering a Service Dog? Watch this video [kad_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_yYAa9KaQ0″ ]   “She’s definitely not just a dog, she’s family to me.” Her eyes well up with tears as Kristie Korczyk, animal and nutritional sciences major at West Virginia University, reflects on her relationship with Abbey, the service dog she has been fostering for nearly […]

A revised taxonomy of assistance animals

The use of animals in various assistive, therapeutic, and emotional support roles has contributed to the uncoordinated expansion of labels used to distinguish these animals. To address the inconsistent vocabulary and confusion, this article proposes a concise taxonomy for classifying assistance animals. Several factors were identified to differentiate categories, including (1) whether the animal performs […]