London Assembly members today called for backing for a scheme which provides therapy dogs to armed forces veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Paws For Support, a new report from London Assembly Tories, asked Sadiq Khan to support a £1.1 million interest-free loan scheme to help the capital’s 5,300 vulnerable veterans.
The proposals include using cash reserves to fund the loan scheme to train 100 assistance dogs. If successful, the pilot scheme could be expanded using corporate sponsorship.
Therapy dogs provide PTSD sufferers with the confidence to take public transport, go shopping, socialise or find work. They can wake a sufferer from recurring nightmares — a common symptom of the illness — and keep them calm during panic attacks.
The animals, trained by the charity Veterans With Dogs, can also be an effective alternative to long-term drug prescriptions.
However, the charity has a long waiting list for the dogs, which cost £11,000 to train. Army veteran and Londoner Richard Mearns, 35, was left out of work and unable to leave the house because of PTSD which he suffered after his tour of Iraq in 2003.
Since he was paired up with assistance dog Ziggy, he has suffered fewer anxiety attacks and has landed a full-time civil service job.
“He makes my day a lot less stressful,” Mr Mearns said. “There have been times when I’ve been so low and seriously contemplated whether I want to be here any more, but he’s snapped me out of it.”
Tory Assembly member Shaun Bailey said: “The Mayor has the power, through existing cash reserves and his ability to attract corporate sponsorship, to provide life-changing help for those most in need.”
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Mr Khan said: “City Hall has signed the Armed Forces Community Covenant to demonstrate our commitment to London’s veterans and has a number of programmes that help them to get back into work, access training and secure housing. I always welcome suggestions for how society can help our veterans and I look forward to reading the ‘Paws for Support’ report.”
