Sergeant Alan Hill and Frankie
According to a recent Rand Corporation study, hundreds of thousand of Iraq and Afghanistan vets are living with post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD can produce anxiety, panic attacks and flashbacks at any moment, during the most routine activities.
Sgt. Alan Hill is a Purple Heart recipient who still has war zones in his mind, though he’s been home from Iraq for over a year. Nightmares, “daymares,” and eight-day crippling migraines have disrupted his efforts to live a normal life. Just going to the store for groceries was a near impossibility.
But now, Sgt. Hill has help — a yellow lab service dog named Frankie. Within days of meeting her, Sgt. Hill was so transformed that he was able to give interviews to news reporters and pose for photo shoots.
Frankie serves as a physical buffer between Sgt. Hill and whoever is interacting with him. If she senses his anxiety level rising, she licks his face and offers him her paw, cutting short anxiety attacks before they can escalate.
With Frankie’s help, Sgt. Hill will be able to navigate his world with much more confidence. Here’s hoping that many more dogs can be trained to assist other servicemembers.
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