Last week, Cindy Carter heard her son laugh for the first time since he returned home from serving in Iraq.
She credits the change in her son to his new companion, Mansfield, a Freedom Service dog, better known as Manny. Alex Carter and his boxer- American mastiff mix were one of 16 teams to graduate Saturday from the FSD program in Englewood.
“It’s like having a little kid around because he is so innocent,” Alex said of his new companion. “It’s like he’s a gift from God.”
Alex said he has suffered from depression since returning to his home in Falcon. He suffered from a brain injury during his tour of duty as a gunner. The depression makes it hard to leave the house.
“I sacrificed everything,” Alex said. “I was a combat casualty, and I lost a lot of friends in the war.”
His mother, Cindy, said she first saw a Freedom Service dog while Alex was recovering in the hospital. She looked up the program online and began the process to connect her son with FSD.
“The interview was three hours long. The trainers were joking big strong guys like Alex end up with poodles,” Cindy recalled. “As soon as Manny came into the room, Alex fell in love with him.”
Alex, 25, lives with his parents and suffers from flashbacks and night terrors. Cindy said that before her son connected with Manny, he couldn’t go shopping.
“Manny is helping him find his old self,” Cindy said.
Though the two have only been together for two weeks, Alex’s father, Ray Carter, said he has seen his son completely change.
“Alex needs something to help keep him calm. His training was to watch out for danger and now he sees it everywhere,” Ray said.
On the way to the graduation ceremony, Alex drove past a car accident, which is usually something his father would have worried about.
“Manny has helped us all so much. He helps Alex get through the tough times,” Ray said.
FSD trains companions at no cost to their clients. All of the animals are rescued from shelters.
They work closely with veterans and plan on increasing the size of the program, said development director Perry Jowsey.
FSD also will participate in a study to measure the effectiveness of pairing service dogs with veterans.
“Which I think will show what we have already seen — it makes a profound difference,” Jowsey said.
Vietnam veteran Curtis Riner received his service dog, Bailey, in March.
“She knows when I’m going into a depression,” he said. “When I have nightmares, she wakes me up.”
The service dogs are taught how to do a number of tasks, but each one is tailored to their person, trainer Bri Bove said. She said not only are the dogs rescued, but they in turn help rescue their owners.
“When I connect a dog to a client, they both know they are home,” Bove said.
Caitlin Gibbons: 303-954-1638 or cgibbons@denverpost.com
