The Value of Service Dogs for Student Veterans

Student veterans often suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of combat (Yarborough et al., 2018). Service dogs can help student veterans to live their lives despite these challenges by helping these individuals minimize anxiety, reduce hypervigilance, reconnect with humans, improve sleep quality and duration, and remain present (Morris et al., 2019; Scotland-Coogan, 2019a; Yarborough et al., 2018). Service dogs are an excellent resource, but there is a lack of information available to student veterans on their benefits, so this valuable resource is often underutilized. This poster will explain the benefits and challenges of service dog utilization for veterans, along with implications for occupational therapy practice