By Deanna Fraser [1]
BELLEVILLE – Liane Wood of Frankford and her service dog Harley want to bring a message of hope to those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Wood and her dog were featured on TV network Animal Planet [2]‘s Collar of Duty [3] earlier this year.
In 2013, she and her husband Dan were awarded the medal of bravery by Canada’s governor general [4] after they rescued a 13-year-old who was stuck inside a car submerged in the Trent River.
Wood admitted that after the accident she wasn’t focused on her well-being.
“Most of my energy was being directed towards others. I really wasn’t paying attention to myself during that time and I was ignoring what was going on with me,” she said.
She added that she wasn’t comfortable leaving the house.
“The house felt safer to be in. I was pretty much housebound at that point,” she said.
In 2014, she was officially diagnosed with PTSD and found help through Dominion Assistance Dogs [5]. The organization uses canine assistance as a tool in improving mental health.
Lisa-Marie Guernon, founder of the organization, left the military in 2011 after 16 years of service.
Geurnon said that she is the only one in Canada offering service dogs for this disorder.
“I get calls from Halifax to Edmonton, but I concentrate on the Quinte region,” she said.
The non-profit works towards helping those with PTSD go back to living a functional life.
“We have seen success for most of our clients. They are able to go outside without their dog,” she said.
Wood took home a black lab. He has helped Wood feel more at ease in public.
“If we’re in a store or somewhere crowded he makes space around me. If people are approaching me to talk to me he will move his body between me and the other person,” said Wood.
She said that Harley has helped her the most in realizing that being out of the house can be fun.
“Seeing Harley have this un-abandoned joy while playing in the snow made being outside seem to be okay,” she said.
Although PTSD is usually heard of in veterans and first responders, there is an equal number of civilians who suffer, said Wood.
“Any event that we go through that overwhelms your brain’s ability to function can cause post-traumatic stress,” she said.
“It hurts me every time I see in the news that someone lost their fight to PTSD. I think a lot of it is the sense of hopelessness.”
Wood said that she did Collar of Duty to show people things can get better.
“Keep trying, keep looking for something. Whether it be a dog, a new type of therapy. Doesn’t matter what it is. It’s different for every individual,” she said.
Wood and Harley had a 15 minute segment after filming for two and a half days.
“A lot didn’t make it on the show but they really caught the essence of our story. They kept true to what our story is,” she said.