Vet receives PTSD service dog

Raymond Galmiche was a U.S. Army soldier for 20 years.

He considered himself a survivor, but his years in combat during the Vietnam War slowly crept up on him. He began suffering from night terrors, extreme anxiety and depression. He isolated himself from his friends and family. It wasn’t until 2002 that Raymond was able to put a name to his problem; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Today he is 100-percent disabled, according to his doctors at Veterans Affairs. But Raymond became more optimistic in September when he was paired with Dazzle, a 2-year-old German Shepard.

Minnesota Sen. Al Franken and Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson cosponsored the Service Dogs for Veterans Act, which directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a pilot program pairing service dogs with veterans suffering from PTSD and other physical and mental injuries and disabilities. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009.

For more on this story see the Dec. 15 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.