Healing Power of Pets: Veteran finds companion in service dog

Jukin Media

Steven Mangiameli, served in the Army for ten years and when he came back, he found himself struggling to connect with the world he left behind...until he met Dozer.  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  Ten years in the Army left specialist Steven Mangiameli with depression, anxiety and a debilitating sense of loneliness. He spent many days in bed unable to face the world. His life changed when he contacted Pets for Vets and was paired with Dozer. Dozer became his perfect companion and has made Steven more social, abated his alcoholism and pulled him out of his depression.   Special thanks to Pets for Vets.  Segment Producer: Hai-Lam Phan Associate Producer: Brittni Brown, Sage Sinopoli

Transcript

00:00I'm Steve. I was experiencing severe forms of depression as a result of my

00:06transference from military service to civilian service. That's really the main

00:09cause of it that actually led to my alcoholism. And the depression just got

00:14so bad I wouldn't, I just, I didn't feel like I could function in life.

00:19I served just under 10 years in the Army and I served two station duty stations

00:25overseas. Launcher was known as Alpha 3-1. It was definitely frustrating for my

00:30friends to see how I struggled with my depression and my alcoholism. I would not

00:34return their calls or I'd go on drinking binges for days at a time. It affected my

00:38ability to actually work. I would miss days at a time. I had trouble eating on a

00:44regular basis. I had trouble getting out of bed. If I had never met Dozer, I would

00:48probably still be struggling with my depression. And I also have a history of

00:52multiple relapses in my alcoholism. And with Dozer being present, I have not had

00:57any relapses. Hets for Vets helped me by introducing me to one of the most

01:02amazing animals I've ever met in my life. Hets for Vets is a nonprofit, a 501c3,

01:07where we rescue shelter animals, rehabilitate them, train them, and match

01:11them specifically to veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress

01:15disorder, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, depression. I met Steve and I could just

01:20tell the feeling that I got from him. He was having a hard time sort of opening

01:25up about himself. And I knew that it was really hard. I could see it in his eyes. I

01:29could see what was going on, that emotion. And so I knew that I needed a special

01:34dog for him to kind of allow him to come out of his shell a little bit and

01:38express that emotion. Dozer just stood out to me. He had this adorable little

01:42underbite. He was right there. He came right over to me. He sat with me. He was

01:46licking on me. That's exactly what Steven needed to kind of be able to

01:49smile and let his emotion out. The first time I met him was when Hets for Vets

01:53actually brought him by. They had me actually close my eyes when they

01:57brought him in. And I opened my eyes the first time seeing him. And my heart just

02:03instantly swelled as soon as I saw him. And we took right to each other

02:07immediately. Well, Dozer, he's about three years old. Dozer's personality and I are

02:12just such a wonderful match because there's times where I don't have quite

02:17the energy, especially with my physical disabilities. But he's just perfect. He was

02:20just laying there with me. Or if we just want to go for a nice long walk, he's

02:25always ready no matter what the case may be. The thing about Dozer in helping my

02:30recovery is usually it is the depression that starts me on that path. And he just

02:34never lets me sit alone. He's always there to give me the love and affection

02:37that I just sometimes need. Living alone, he's been the perfect companion for me.

02:42He's just so full of love. Dozer has helped Steven heal from when I first

02:48met him. He was very closed off. It was really hard. I didn't get any emotion

02:52from him. But since the moment that I matched them together, he just was so in

02:57love with his dog and expressing so much more emotion than I thought was possible

03:01to come out of him. And so I knew it's just kind of letting him open up and be

03:05himself again. And I don't know where Steven would be. It breaks my heart to

03:09think where he possibly could have been without the companionship of Dozer.

03:13I absolutely believe in the healing power of pets because there's just nothing so

03:17therapeutic as getting the love and affection from a pet that just adores

03:22you and you adore it back. Working with animals doesn't make the pain go away.

03:28But it does serve as a bridge to help the client feel more comfortable. It just

03:34makes things easier. It's really helpful. Since I've had Dozer, I've definitely

03:39been more contact with my friends. We're definitely more outgoing. We actually go

03:43and visit with my friends all the time. He's made friends with their pets and

03:47he's just been absolutely wonderful in helping me be more sociable with other

03:51people. Dozer is just the most wonderful animal I think I've ever met and he's

03:56just been absolutely phenomenal as a pet and as a companion. I love Dozer

04:01immensely. Dozer loves me very much as well. I can tell.

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