Serving those who served
Sgt. Bill Campbell returned from Iraq with some horrifying memories -- so horrifying that he was unable to leave his house.
Campbell says his post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms -- anxiety, depression, nightmares, hallucinations, memory loss and exaggerated startle response -- made everyday life virtually unbearable, until he met Pax, a 17-month-old yellow Labrador, specially trained to help him cope with PTSD.
(AP Photo/Dave Delozier KUSA TV)
Pax does everything from reminding him to take his medication to coaxing him out of his house. "Pax forces me to go out," Campbell told ABCNEWS.com. "He has to go for walks."
Pax was donated to Campbell by the New York-based nonprofit organization Puppies Behind Bars, which has provided service dogs to individuals with disabilities since 1997, but just recently expanded their program to include war veterans.
Campbell, 46, returned in 2005 from from Iraq, where he had been hit with shrapnel in his hand and head, causing nerve damage and traumatic brain injury.
Pax is the first dog to be deployed by Puppies Behind Bar's new initiative "Dog Tags: Service Dogs for Those Who've Served Us." He knows more than 50 different commands. He warns Campbell of strangers or possible dangers, clears crowded areas and provides a reality check when Campbell gets lost in hallucinations or nightmares.
To read the ABC report, click here.
