'Sit! Stay! Snuggle!': An Iraq Vet Finds His Dog Tuesday

JULY 11, 2009

'Sit! Stay! Snuggle!': An Iraq Vet Finds His Dog Tuesday
Trained for 2 Years, Retriever Helps Mr. Montalvan Get Back on His Feet

By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
WSJ

NEW YORK -- Like any other golden retriever seeking a treat, Tuesday nudged his owner's hand with his snout one recent morning and waited expectantly. Luis Carlos Montalvan got up from a chair in his small Brooklyn apartment and walked to the kitchen. Tuesday followed close behind, eyes fixed on a white cabinet. The retriever sat alertly as Mr. Montalvan, an Iraq war veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, reached for a vial of pills, lined a half-dozen on the table and took them one by one. The dog had gotten what he wanted: When the last pill was swallowed, he got up and followed his master out of the kitchen, tail wagging.

Tuesday is a so-called psychiatric-service dog, a new generation of animals trained to help people whose suffering is not physical, but emotional. They are, effectively, Seeing Eye dogs for the mind. Tuesday is with Mr. Montalvan at all hours. Taught to recognize changes in a person's breathing, perspiration or scent that can indicate an imminent panic attack, Tuesday can keep Mr. Montalvan buffered from crowds or deliver a calming nuzzle. Other dogs, typically golden retrievers, Labradors or Labrador retriever blends, are trained to wake masters from debilitating nightmares and to help patients differentiate between hallucinations and reality by barking if a real person is nearby.

(snip)

The federal government has given the dogs the same legal protections as other service animals, so Tuesday can ride the subway with Mr. Montalvan and accompany him to restaurants and theaters. But few of the dogs are available to former troops like Mr. Montalvan, one of the estimated 300,000 veterans of the two wars who will ultimately develop PTSD... Puppies Behind Bars Inc., a New York-based nonprofit that uses prisoners to train animals, has placed psychiatric-service dogs with 11 veterans and hopes to provide 14 more this year. Gloria Gilbert Stoga, the charity's president, said it is difficult to raise the $26,000 needed to train each dog. "We're just scratching the surface," she said.

(snip)

Tuesday was eight weeks old when he and five siblings were turned over to Puppies Behind Bars, who moved them to New York's Fishkill Correctional Facility. The pup shared a cell with John Pucci, a convicted killer who assumed primary responsibility for molding Tuesday into a service dog. "No one thought he would make it," said Mr. Pucci, explaining that Tuesday would fall asleep in other prisoners' laps as they watched television and would sometimes hide under Mr. Pucci's bed and refuse to leave the cell. Inmates bet Mr. Pucci some cigarettes that Tuesday was too affectionate to be a service dog. Mr. Pucci discovered that Tuesday loved the jail's small inflatable pool and would run through commands perfectly if he was in the water. In nine months, Mr. Pucci taught Tuesday to respond to 82 commands geared mainly toward helping the physically disabled -- turning on lights with his nose, retrieving food from shelves, helping load washing machines. "I got released before I could collect the cigarettes," said Mr. Pucci, 64 years old, who served 29 years and now lives in San Antonio, Texas, where he continues to train dogs.


(snip)

Tuesday, now 3 years old, listens to the daily alarm on Mr. Montalvan's wristwatch, his cue to make sure he takes his pills. Wearing the red harness of a work dog, he accompanies Mr. Montalvan to Dunkin' Donuts and the movie theater, to Veterans Administration group counseling sessions in Manhattan, and to Columbia University, where Mr. Montalvan is studying journalism and communication. At Mr. Montalvan's apartment -- decorated with his Purple Heart and Bronze Star certificates, and pictures and paintings of Tuesday -- they sleep in the same wooden sleigh bed. On a recent afternoon, Mr. Montalvan and Tuesday walked to a nearby subway station. The platform was crowded. Mr. Montalvan began to look agitated. Tuesday, who had been lying at his feet, jumped up and stood between his master and the nearest cluster of people, creating a buffer. Mr. Montalvan's breathing noticeably stabilized. The train approached. Mr. Montalvan bent down to tie his Army combat boots, scratched Tuesday behind the ears, and they made their way aboard.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124727385749826169.html (subscription)

Goldens are such a great breed, I have one. Patience is their middle name.

This made me get suddenly teary eyed: "On a recent afternoon, Mr. Montalvan and Tuesday walked to a nearby subway station. The platform was crowded. Mr. Montalvan began to look agitated. Tuesday, who had been lying at his feet, jumped up and stood between his master and the nearest cluster of people, creating a buffer. Mr. Montalvan's breathing noticeably stabilized."

:kick:

a convicted killer in jail who now trains other dogs.

What a better way to rehabilitate than to execute.

Nothing but positives.

I hope this program expands to all who need it.

I was moved by this story. I have no doubt that these creatures, our fellow passengers on planet Earth, have the same divinity, the same Buddha-nature as we.

Hello, Lost Jaguar. Welcome to DU!

One - utilizing prisoners is a great idea. It teaches them a skill and helps teach them "emotional bonding" - which is something sorely lacking in many inmates.

Two - these types of dogs are also wonderful companions for autistic children. Again, though, the cost is so prohibitive that most can't afford it.


Hey - does anyone know if insurance ever covers the cost of service animals?

There was a story about teaching autistic children at a young age that could better prepare them to life.

It was a state - don't remember, Arizona? - that was going to pass a law mandating this coverage by private insurance which, of course, met stiff resistance.

I remember thinking then: either the insurance company pays for it now or we, as a society, will have to care for the autistic children who would grow to be autistic adults barely supporting themselves, if at all at a much higher cost.

Call me just an old softy and an animal lover, but this is truly a win-win situation.

The program reports deep drops in prison violence when this program is used and a needy person gets an animal to help them..How can you not love it?

I love the idea of the dogs being used for PTSD Vets, as well..I will gladly donate to this program...Thanks to the OP for the story :hi:

a rare find these days. :thumbsup:

It makes so much sense to use dogs for this. They are very good at detecting people's emotional states; that's why they are such popular pets in the first place.

The BEST dogs in the world!!

If there is a more loving, faithful dog than a golden or a lab, I don't know what it is.

My aussie is just as loyal and loving, to be sure. She is just way more territorial. She likes everyone, and will happily play and cuddle with them... as long as they stay in the room with me, and as long as they stay about 6 feet away from me. Come any closer, and her whole focus is on pushing the intruder back out of her self-determined range of required space around me.

Her friendships come second to her job: head of ranch, and "mom," security. ;)

Thanks for this post. Sending link to some pals

Great for the prisoners. Great for the dogs. Great for the end receivers.

Another program I learned about recently is a hearing-ear dog that trains the best of the *rescue* shelter dogs into service dogs (and rehomes the rescues that don't make the service dog cut).

:applause:

Luis Carlos Montalvan at a New York bookstore with Tuesday, who goes with him everywhere and is trained to respond to signs of anxiety.

and Mr. Pucci and the others who are doing this! This was a sweet story. Thank you!

I needed my morning cry.
What a beautiful, and beautifully written story.

I am so glad the Army has gone from seeing dogs as destroyable after combat to a tool to help soldiers. I wish this would extend to other areas. Soldiers are having a horrible time getting their adopted dogs out of Iraq. Nothing is more important than morale and the mental health of our troops, it seems so obvious to me to send the dogs out with the men. The military dogs need stuff, especially doggles, the non-military dogs need across the border to get out. All the way around this is good stuff but they need to go further with it. Many of these dogs are adopting our troops over there so to speak and then we leave them to face certain death at the hands of muslims who don't value them at all.

More on Military dogs: http://k9pride.com/
Then there's the training programs that need puppy raisers. Get involved guys! All of you think this story is so good, well all of these groups need help because there are as many people out there poo-pooing them and working against them as there are lining up to say great post.
Operation Baghdad Pups http://www.baghdadpups.com/ frequently faces non-cooperation situations from the Army. It took a multi-continent effort to get Ratchet home for Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg. Don't just sit back and say "good job," please.

I finished reading that wonderful story, wiped away a tear, and went and gave my dog Jazz a kiss on the snout. Then, one of my cats attacked my foot. Animals are the greatest.

... so they can realize that there's no such thing as "just a dog".

Our 4-leggers can, in my opinion, be more intelligent, loyal and compassionate than alot of people I've known.

:hi: Can't help but smile and well up a little at the same time. It's good to hear some good news about vets getting the help they need, and also that Mr. Pucci's story has a happy ending as well.

I used to take my two schnauzers to our Blind Institute and an old age home for love therapy. It made everybody's day, including the dogs'. The one occasion I'll never forget was when one of my girls hopped into the lap of a very aged man confined to a wheel chair, blind and mostly deaf. (She sort of got away from me, but she obviously sensed something from the man). It took him a few seconds to realize what she was, and why his chin was getting licked, then as he started patting her little head he began to cry. Anyone out there who has a friendly dog and wants to get involved in programs like that, make a few calls. People really appreciate it.

Me, too.
*tear rolls down cheek*
I would like to find out about taking our Border collie-Heeler, Sally, to an old age home . Before we got her from the SPCA I believe an old man taught her how to bring a toy "closer", and "closer" to him, until he could reach down and pick it up, and toss it again. If someone can't bend over, she'll put her toy near your foot so you can kick it for her, and I think this would be an amusing diversion for some old people, in addition to the affection a dog brings.

Yes, I think that we realize how dogs can bring comfort to people confined in institutions. I suspect that any dog could do this, but with everyone busy life, an owner will have to make a real commitment for these visits. The cruelest thing would be to start with visits and then, abruptly, to stop.

My heart ache when I hear how many abandoned their pets when they had to leave their foreclosed homes. I am not sure whether there has been an organized effort to collect these animals and to offer them a home.