On April 6, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio launched a new program whereby he will show appreciation for the military service of incarcerated veterans by allowing said veterans to play and interact with dogs from the Maricopa County Sheriff Office’s (MCSO) MASH Unit each Wednesday.
Arpaio believes this is way not simply to relieve the struggles many incarcerated veterans face, but especially the problems associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
According to a MCSO press release:
Studies have… found that the presence of “man’s best friend” from time to time help inmate deals with stress. Many veterans upon returning home from deployments overseas have also turned to dogs for companionship. Some veterans worked with dogs on the battlefield and find the continued interaction with them soothing.
Arpaio said, “We owe the veteran a special debt of gratitude, even after their issues with the law.”
Incarcerated veterans in Maricopa are kept together, in a special area of the Maricopa County jail. Arpaio instituted such housing as a way of allowing veterans to help each other deal with the burdens familiar to those who served. The dogs that veterans will interact with each Wednesday are dogs that the MCSO seized or took in due to abuse and neglect. Because of this, the MCSO press release points out that the interaction with veterans will be good rehabilitation for the dogs too.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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