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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Psychol Trauma. 2021 Feb 25;14(3):347–356. doi: 10.1037/tra0001021

Percentage of veterans on the waitlist or with a service dog that reported each category within their responses.

Main Theme: Subtheme Categories Service Dog
(n = 69)
Waitlist
(n = 59)
Mental Health: Daily Life Medication 23% 25%
Nights 26% 25%
Normalcy 30% 39%
Quality of Life 41% 37%
Getting Out 59% 63%
Mental Health: Emotion Management Self-Understanding 3% 5%
Stress 4% 22%
Hypervigilance 10% 5%
Safety 10% 20%
Depression 14% 29%
Anger 16% 17%
Emotions 17% 34%
PTSD Symptoms 20% 25%
Peace 23% 25%
Anxiety 29% 63%
Mental Health: Interpersonal Skills Caregiver Burden 0% 7%
Crowds 6% 19%
Independence 10% 15%
Loneliness 10% 22%
Reintegration 14% 10%
Relationships 38% 44%
Mental Health: Cognition Flashbacks 0% 2%
Attitude 6% 8%
Confidence 7% 8%
Concentration 12% 14%
Coping Skills 14% 20%
Human Dog Interaction: Trained Tasks Medication Retrieval 1% 0%
Daily Activities 9% 14%
Brace 14% 8%
Re-Focus 16% 15%
Block 26% 15%
Cover 32% 22%
Alerts 41% 39%
Human Dog Interaction: Dog as a Positive Companion Dog as a Companion 39% 61%
Dog Positivity 81% 66%
Drawbacks Dog Loss 1% 5%
Dog Non-Obedience 3% 0%
Costs 4% 14%
Stigma 6% 14%
Adjusting 12% 15%
Maintenance 13% 22%
Travel 17% 5%
Access 17% 8%
Perceptions 25% 10%
Attention 43% 20%