According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 7 in every 100 veterans will have PTSD, which is why a Sierra Vista nonprofit is helping veterans and first responders with service dogs and companion dogs.
Leslie Bryant is a retired police officer. In 2021 she started Hero P.A.W.S as a way to give back to first responders and veterans. Through the nonprofit, Bryant trains dogs to meet the needs of their handlers. Companion dogs receive basic obedience training, while the service dogs will be trained to the specific needs of the handler.
“Dogs will take care of us in ways that our human partners or our human friends cannot because they don't care what happened yesterday. They don't care what's going to happen tomorrow,” she said.
Michael Lomuscio, a veteran with PTSD, got his service dog Wall-E from Bryant three weeks ago. He said he's tried different therapy programs to help him with his diagnosis but they haven't worked. He decided to get a service dog to help him feel safe leaving his house.
“I thought it would help me be more inclusive in society, because I just sit on my front porch," Lomuscio said. "With my PTSD I don't really trust people.”
He says since having Wall-E, he been able to go out a bit more than he has in the past. Bryant rescued Wall-E from a local shelter. She says she checks the local shelters for dogs when she gets a client because many of the dogs there have the temperament to be a service or companion dog, they just need to be trained.
“There are so many dogs that are thrown away in our local shelters that are really great dogs," Bryant said. "They just need training, and by doing that, we're saving two lives at one time.”
She also trains therapy dogs. Her newest member is Soot, a 1-year-old Dalmatian that belongs to Holly Griswold and the Tombstone Fire Department.
“I am very excited to be working with Soot,” Bryant said.
Griswold says the department was given Soot, as a puppy, while on a call to help a child.
“One of the biggest things we wanted to do when we got him was, you know, give back to the community somehow," she said.
That's when Griswold realized Soot could be a therapy dog.
"One of the things I recognized was, Cochise County does not have therapy dogs available to first responders,” she said.
The plan is when Soot is trained, to bring him to traumatic scenes to help first responders and victims. Soot is still working on his puppy behaviors but Griswold and Bryant say he’s a great way to start conversations about mental health within the county and among first responders.
“Physical health is obviously very important in the field that we work, as well as mental health," Griswold said. "Just having this resource available for all the departments, I think we'll be very beneficial for the county.”
All of Bryant's services are trained at no cost, since the nonprofit relies on donations and grants. She says there is still a need for more resources like hers across the county.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9 . She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook .
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