There have been studies that have been going on all across the United States and internationally for many years. Because I'm in a position where I do my own type of research with effective programs that are out there, I am able to create them here in Canada.
For several years, I had gone across the United States and internationally to other organizations that are doing this exact same thing, which has just kept growing. It gets better. There are more studies that are being done to prove how effective dogs are. That is the reason we decided to take it on, understanding that this has been going on for so many years and has shown its effectiveness.
When we're talking about PTSD, of course, that's a bit of a different story. That is new. There are studies all over.
There are service dogs for PTSD, and they are trained in specific tasks. What we have realized is that many times a service dog is not required for PTSD; however, a very highly trained companion animal is. That's what we have surmised through the studies.