Mike Deardorff knew he wanted to join the military since he was 10 years old.
But upon returning home from more than a decade of realizing his dream in the U.S. Marine Corps, the transition back to civilian life would prove to be more difficult than expected.
Immediately after touching down on home soil, the sights and sounds of the Raleigh airport were overwhelming. He felt a panic grow inside of him and wanted to turn around and go back to the only life he had come to know: the life of a Marine.
Mike knew he had PTSD. What he didn’t fully understand was how deeply it would impact his everyday. While he found ways to cope, he managed to survive but not thrive. He struggled with sleep, distrusted people, and watched relationships with friends and family members crumble under the strain of his symptoms.
But Mike was one of the first Marines to return from Iraq. At the time, there wasn’t much discussion about decompressing after deployment or treatment options for those living with PTSD.
Without a clear plan to get help, Mike continued on, taking things day by day and just getting by. But when a close friend was killed in an aviation accident, all the issues he was trying to keep hidden below the surface began to boil over.
He took a leave of absence from work and began to see a counselor. It helped, but Mike considers himself a problem solver, and he didn’t feel that the problem was totally solved.
Then his road to recovery took a turn when he least expected it. One day, while grocery shopping, he ran into a woman with a dog. The Labrador had a Dogs Inc vest on, a name he recognized as a nonprofit that raised and trained guide and service dogs. While he was talking with the woman, he felt the dog’s paw rest on his thigh. He looked down to see her dog looking up at him.
When he looked back at the woman, she asked, “Do you have PTSD?”
Mike told her he had recently been diagnosed, and she explained that her dog was a service dog, trained specifically to assist veterans with PTSD. Right there in the grocery store, her dog was doing exactly that, working to comfort him.
In that moment, he realized that he didn’t have the anxieties that normally plagued him when he was out in public. All that was on his mind was petting this sweet dog.
It was an “aha” moment, and after research and consideration, Mike decided to apply for a service dog from Dogs Inc in Palmetto, FL, just 15 minutes from his home. The dogs and training were provided at no cost, and to his surprise, it only took about six weeks before he was matched with his service dog Ryan, and everything began to change.
Mike knew Ryan was a perfect fit right away. Ryan is trained to create space for him in public spaces, acting as a sort of natural barrier between Mike and the crowds that once made him feel anxious and claustrophobic.
If Mike does get upset, Ryan is also trained to provide physical touch to restore a sense of calm and security. Mike can cue Ryan to lay his head on his knee or against his leg and let the pressure of his body bring him back to the present.
“It’s really difficult to stay in a bad mood when you have a dog who is incredibly persistent and very happy and enthusiastic about every day,” Mike said.
Since matching with Ryan, Mike has not only found peace in his own life: he now volunteers at Dogs Inc and helps inspire others to discover the power of service dog partnerships too.
“Ryan is my lifeline,” Mike said. “When I wake up and I don’t know what the day holds, he’s there with his tail wagging, excited that he’s got another opportunity to have the best day ever.”
By Dogs Inc