SLO Vietnam War vet gets service dog from nonprofit

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. Dogs also can save lives, according to a local nonprofit group that connects dogs with veterans.

Cayucos-based Paws for a Cause has raised $40,000 and partnered with the San Luis Obispo-based nonprofit New Life K9s to provide service dogs to veterans — and, as a result, help prevent suicide, improve their relationships with those in the community, offer assistance and emotional support, and reduce homelessness.

The organization says dogs are the perfect buddies for those who have been hurt — physically or emotionally — by war because their loyalty and friendship is unconditional.

San Luis Obispo resident Bruce Hulin, a Vietnam War veteran and amputee, officially was awarded his new service dog, a yellow lab named Nichols, in an emotional ceremony at a Los Osos Rotary Club meeting Friday at La Palapa restaurant in Los Osos. Hulin is the fourth veteran to receive a service dog from Paws for a Cause.

Hulin, 67, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has had difficulty doing daily tasks since his right leg was amputated a year and a half ago. Hulin said doctors believe the herbicide Agent Orange, which he was exposed to in Vietnam, contributed to health complications that led to the loss of his leg.

Over the past two years, Nichols has been trained as a service dog by San Luis Obispo-based nonprofit New Life K9s, with the assistance of Cal Poly animal science major Emily Bean.

Hulin said Nichols picks dropped items off the floor for him, opens doors with the use of an attached rope and nudges him affectionately when he begins to feel anxious or uncomfortable.

“We play together,” Hulin said. “He loves playing ball. At night, if I’m having a bad dream or something and I’m rolling around, I feel a wet nose against me and he wakes me up.”

Hulin said he hadn’t suffered from PTSD for a long time, but after the amputation his symptoms returned.

Nichols’ trainer, Nicole Hern of New Life K9s, said a service dog can sense its owner’s emotional state and offer comfort. She said another veteran who received a dog told her he would have committed suicide or landed in jail if not for his new canine companion.

“Some veterans don’t like people to approach them,” Hern said. “The dog can be trained to bark and deflect the attention away so the person approaching knows to keep their distance. For others, they think they wear their PTSD on their sleeve and when someone sees them with a dog, it helps. In their mind they say ‘When people see the dog, they know I’m OK.’ ”

Service dog training requires one to two years of intense work.

Nichols responds to 63 commands. Others trained by New Life K9s can respond to 100 or more.

New Life K9s also has a program that works with inmates at the California Men’s Colony. The program is training six service dogs to give to veterans.

For the past few weeks, she has visited the prison nearly every weekday; two inmates share the training of one dog. On the weekends, the dogs return to their handlers with the organization.

Gil Igleheart, who founded Paws for a Cause with Cayucos resident Dick Mellinger in September, said the prison program gives the inmates a sense of dignity and responsibility.

“They have a purpose that’s more than just existing in the prison,” he said. “It’s giving them back some humanity.”

Igleheart hopes to grow the program to every state in the country and partner with more prisons to offer dog training to inmates, including Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad.

Members of various Rotary clubs in San Luis Obispo County have contributed money to the nonprofit.

Paws for a Cause also has donated 40 nontrained dogs from the Woods Humane Society to give to vets as companions.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 5:11 PM with the headline "SLO Vietnam War vet gets service dog from nonprofit."