Can military dogs get PTSD? Air Force handler says yes, and he has one on the mend

Military working dog on the mend from PTSD

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — An Air Force master sergeant says a military working dog is recovering from a case of PTSD after a tour of duty in Iraq.

Eric Haynes of Peterson Air Force Base says a German shepherd named Gina was a playful 2-year-old when she went to Iraq as a bomb-sniffing dog, but months of door-to-door searches and noisy explosions left her cowering and fearful.

Haynes says a military veterinarian diagnosed Gina with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He says she’s improving after months of careful work to get her to trust people and not be fearful inside buildings.

PTSD is well documented among servicemen and women, but its existence in animals is less clear-cut. Some veterinarians say animals do experience it, or a version of it.