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Healing Hearts with Healing Paws: A Personal Exploration of the Science of Service Dogs and PTSD

Fallon Marie
Roll with Me Publications

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This academic paper explores the science of service dogs and their impact on handlers with PTSD,

Author’s Note: This is my final from a science class. Unlike most research papers, our professor requested that we relate our subject to our personal experience, so I included stories about my beloved Sophie as part of the paper. This story is also labeled in parts. This was a requirement for the assignment.

Part 1: Topic Exploration and Prior Knowledge

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220727141337.htm .

We all know how beloved our dogs are. They offer us companionship, and love, and are often an entertaining burst of joy injected into our daily lives, but what if your pup could do more than offer kisses and tail wags? The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines an “assistance animal” as “…an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of a person’s disability. An assistance animal is not a pet (HUD, 2023).” Service dogs are immensely helpful to their handlers. They can be trained for a variety of tasks ranging from mobility support to…

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