Healing Power of Pets: Marine finds comfort in service dog

Jukin Media

Sgt. Jesse James came back from his tour and disconnected from his family because of his anxiety and PTSD, but with his service dog, Jag by his side, he's able to ease his mind.   Subscribe to The Pet Collective: http://full.sc/HbM62v Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thepetcollective Twitter: https://twitter.com/petcollectiveTV Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/petcollectivetv/ Google+: gplus.to/thepetcollective  Jesse rarely left the house before he got his service dog, Jag. Jesse suffers from PTSD and had been unable to enjoy things with his wife and children because his panic and anxiety would take over in public places. When Jesse was placed with Jag from Tender Loving Canines, he was able to connect again with society because she's able to keep people at a distance and alerts Jesse when his anxiety is getting high so he can focus and stay in control. He's able to connect and function with his family again.   Special thanks to Tender Loving Canines  Segment Producer: Hai-Lam Phan  Associate Producer: Brittni Brown

Transcript

00:00There's not a lot of happy emotions that come with PTSD.

00:02Most things revolve around pain.

00:04I still, I love my family, but they're not getting any beneficial emotion from me.

00:12And it's not because I don't want it, it's just because everything hurts.

00:17I've been in the service for close to eight years now.

00:20I'm a sergeant in the Marine Corps currently.

00:22I did three tours, two to Iraq, one to Afghanistan.

00:25Each tour was seven months long.

00:28When I was first diagnosed with PTSD, it was actually right after my first deployment.

00:33It was also the same deployment that I was blown up by an IED.

00:38No physical effect showed from being blown up from the IED,

00:41but there were symptoms of PTSD that I was unaware of at the time.

00:47The biggest things that I noticed with Jesse was just his patience and his anger level.

00:56He would go from completely fine to very angry in no time at all over something that

01:04didn't really make sense of what someone would get so angry over.

01:08When we would go out into crowds, Jesse would just be on edge.

01:15I could see him grinding his teeth.

01:17He wouldn't really have fun.

01:20He used to love being out.

01:22When I got back from my third tour, I never went out.

01:26I never did anything.

01:27I'd stay in the house and I wouldn't have the desire to do anything

01:32and constantly thinking to myself that everything is painful and I don't want to deal with this.

01:39That's a bad place to be in.

01:41PTSD affects my wife and it's affected me in every way possible.

01:46The way I see it is it's kind of like a bubble.

01:49They're in a bubble and I'm outside it to watch the bubble to make sure that they're okay.

01:54That's the way I'd like it to be and it's not okay for that with the family,

02:00but that's still a work in progress.

02:05I have a daughter who's five years old, Tegan James,

02:08and I have a son, Levi, who's six months old.

02:11And I also have a service dog, Jag.

02:14She's been with us for about six months.

02:16The first time I saw Jag, the service dog that I have now,

02:20was when a few weeks when I got to the Wounded Warrior Battalion.

02:25Turned out the canines brought a few dogs and Jag was one of them.

02:30She connected with me.

02:32When Jag came up and she listens really well

02:36and when she started doing that, it was a good feeling.

02:39It made me feel like I have control over something

02:43Tenderloving Canines Assistance Dogs is a non-profit organization

02:47that places service dogs with Wounded Warriors through our Addies program.

02:52Specifically for Jesse and Jag,

02:54Jag has enabled Jesse to leave the house and to want to get out and become a member of society.

03:03Jag has helped decrease his symptoms of PTSD

03:06and Jag has helped him get out of the house.

03:09Jag has helped decrease his symptoms of PTSD

03:12and Jag basically knows how to react to his triggers.

03:17So Jag has really opened many, many doors for Jesse

03:23in terms of getting out into the community

03:26and helping him live his life to the fullest with the symptoms of PTSD that he has.

03:32Our relationship has changed since Jag.

03:36We're able to do more as a family now that we have Jag.

03:39Because before Jag, Jesse never wanted to leave the house.

03:45A lot of times when people are traumatized,

03:47they don't talk about their trauma because they feel like it's too much

03:50for another person to handle.

03:52They don't want to burden anyone else with their traumatic experience.

03:56But being with a dog or any other sort of animal for service purposes,

04:01I imagine would be really beneficial.

04:04Jag is definitely the bridge between my bubble and my family's bubble

04:08because the way Jag takes care of me and the mood that she gives me,

04:15it allows me to be calm and to spend more time with my kids.

04:21I believe that animals can play a big part in helping you heal

04:29mentally, emotionally.

04:31It's a constant therapy is what it is

04:33and you don't have to talk to them.

04:36You know, you don't have to do anything.

04:39You just have to be there for them and let them help you.

04:44Jesse and Jag are like best friends.

04:48Jag absolutely loves him and she would do anything just to make him happy.

04:53And Jesse absolutely loves her.

04:57I absolutely love Jag.

04:59I couldn't imagine anything without her.

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