{"id":5052,"date":"2022-08-14T16:52:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-14T16:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/14\/service-dog-helps-ease-army-veterans-anxiety\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:03:41","slug":"service-dog-helps-ease-army-veterans-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2022\/08\/14\/service-dog-helps-ease-army-veterans-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Service dog helps ease Army veteran\u2019s anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FREDERICK, Md. \u2014 Joe Nieves, 40, sank into the couch of his living room. His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/04\/12\/hospital-corpsman-first-class-sully-unleashes-healing-power-on-veterans\/\" target=\"_blank\">service dog<\/a>, Jem, a 3-year-old Labrador-golden retriever mix, hopped up next to him and rested her head on his thigh. He started petting her, running his hands over her ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI mean, look at her. She doesn\u2019t have to be here right now,\u201d he said. \u201cShe could be, like, in the bedroom, but she wants to be here and that means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jem is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2021\/12\/26\/service-dogs-help-iowa-veterans-first-responders\/\" target=\"_blank\">service dog specially trained to help veterans<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/transition\/2018\/03\/16\/do-service-dogs-really-help-with-ptsd-a-new-study-has-answers\/\" target=\"_blank\">post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a>, like Nieves. Jem is a buffer for Nieves when he feels overwhelmed or disconnected from the world, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two were paired in March. She has helped him more than he could have imagined, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nieves, an Army veteran, was diagnosed with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/03\/29\/forever-war-what-its-like-to-live-with-bipolar-disorder\/\" target=\"_blank\">bipolar disorder<\/a> and PTSD in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also has anxiety stemming from his deployments to Iraq in 2004 and 2005, he said. Like many veterans, he carries <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2015\/01\/21\/national-geographic-explores-invisible-war-wounds\/\" target=\"_blank\">invisible scars<\/a> of what he witnessed overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s funny, because a lot of the things that haunt people are the things that happened to them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd things did happen to me, but the things that haunt me the most are the things I saw happen to those around me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2021\/12\/26\/service-dogs-help-iowa-veterans-first-responders\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21355683758034.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Service dogs help Iowa veterans, first responders<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">IOWA (Inspiring Our Warriors of America) Service Dogs provides mobility and psychiatric service dogs to first responders and veterans at no cost.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of Jem, Nieves went to his first event in about five years \u2014 Awesome Con, Washington D.C.\u2019s Comic Con convention, in June, which attracts tens of thousands of \u201cgeek culture\u201d fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jem is trained to perform many tasks to assist Nieves. Most helpful, Nieves said, is how she helps him with anxiety in public. For example, she can be a barrier, standing either in front of or behind him to prevent people from getting too close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She can enter places before Nieves does, which takes the pressure off him, he said. He\u2019s an introvert, and people shift their attention to Jem instead of him when they walk in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think it\u2019s a side effect of the command. For me, that\u2019s really good because the eyes aren\u2019t on me, they\u2019re on her \u2026 and that\u2019s really refreshing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot happened to Nieves during his deployment. To this day, one event sticks out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One night, Nieves was monitoring a checkpoint at his base in Iraq and a mortar hit a building 100 yards from where he was standing. Six or seven soldiers were sleeping inside, he said. The roof of the building exploded in a shroud of metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was like slow motion, like in the movies. It\u2019s just pure, slow motion. \u2026 It\u2019s like the 100 yards just shot forward, and it\u2019s just sitting in my eyes and in my face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He heard the mortars before they hit. In that moment, he said, he knew what mortal fear was. He didn\u2019t know whether to move or stay where he was to avoid getting hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luckily, all of the soldiers survived with minimal injuries, he said. But the possibility of losing his entire squad that night haunts him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2012, he was medically retired from the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1241\" height=\"1747\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP22223772508847.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Nieves walks with his service dog Jem near his home in Frederick, Md.\" class=\"wp-image-2654\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP22223772508847.jpg.jpg 1241w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP22223772508847.jpg.jpg?resize=213,300 213w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP22223772508847.jpg.jpg?resize=768,1081 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP22223772508847.jpg.jpg?resize=727,1024 727w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP22223772508847.jpg.jpg?resize=1091,1536 1091w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1241px) 100vw, 1241px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Nieves, an Army veteran who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD in 2006, walks with his service dog Jem near his home in Frederick, Md., on July 15, 2022. (Ric Dugan\/The Frederick News-Post via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nieves tried many things to cope with anxiety, but they never stuck. For example, his wife, Katharina Nieves, got him a camera for when he went out with his two daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe camera was to help me focus down through the viewfinder. So I\u2019m not seeing everything else. I\u2019m just seeing her and my girls when I looked through the viewfinder,\u201d Nieves said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He knew service dogs were an option, but he was discouraged from getting one. It wasn\u2019t until around 2018, when he met the service dog of a veteran friend during Wounded Warrior Project support group meetings, that he felt reinvigorated that a service dog could help him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019, he put himself on a list for Canine Companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canine Companions has six training centers across the U.S. and spends roughly $50,000 to raise and train each dog, said John Bentzinger, a public relations and marketing coordinator for the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A veteran goes through an extensive process to get a service dog. Nieves said the organization\u2019s matching process goes well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The organization picks multiple dogs that could be paired with a veteran. It didn\u2019t take long for Nieves to realize who his would be. It was love at first pet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe really was perfect, the perfect amount of energy,\u201d Nieves said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jem has been a game changer outside the home, Nieves said, and has become part of his family. Nieves has another dog, an energetic and attention-seeking French bulldog named Nemesis. She\u2019s lovely, he said, but Jem provides something different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe love and affection, like I\u2019ve experienced before, but it\u2019s different with her and not in a better way than the other dog in the way that only she can provide,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m eternally grateful \u2026 even for just having somebody lay on the couch with me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Army veteran Joe Nieves\u2019 service dog Jem is specially trained to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,93,12,25,19],"tags":[8455],"coauthors":[3812],"class_list":["post-5052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans","tag-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RTEZ6AUMANGENBCDBGXG4WSREU","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/08\/14\/service-dog-helps-ease-army-veterans-anxiety\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - 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