An update from Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior Nathan, who suffers from PTSD, depression, and bipolar disorder due to childhood abuse and deployments, and his SDIT, “Owen”!

“We did our first training session at a public location. Although Nathan and Owen have been practicing, they hadn’t made any serious trips. Now that they have their own vest and ID, we wanted to give them practice. We started in the garden section and practiced basic behaviors and commands. Then, with the assistance of a sales person there, we had Owen practice staying seated while someone petted him. He did well for his first “petting” from a stranger. Then, we found a cart and practiced pushing the cart with Owen heeling right next to the cart through turns, tight spots, other people, etc. Owen did very well!

Owen was a little nervous with all the sounds and people, but he quickly adjusted and recovered very well from loud noises with very little startle. Good boy with heeling, with a cart, with sitting and watching out when we stopped and took a break. Good Boy Owen! Good Job Nathan! Owen brings Nathan a lot of joy.”