For Matt , a military member for 18 years , Freedom Dogs has returned his independence . “ It is crazy it is called Freedom Dogs because that is exactly what they do . My wife Jordan was my ‘ service dog ’ before ,” he laughed . “ I absolutely could not , go anywhere without her . Now the dogs have given me my freedom back .” Instead of hyper-focusing on potential threats around him , Matt now focuses on his dog ’ s needs . Matt said Freedom Dogs helps him to decompress and deal with stress . Going to the Freedom Dogs Training Center is one of the highlights of his week .
“ Before Freedom Dogs , my life was chaos . I could not cope with anxiety and stress in a healthy manner whatsoever , to the point that I took all of that out on my family ,” Matt shared with GB Magazine . “ Driving was miserable for my kids and my wife . They were all scared to go out with me because they knew an explosion would happen .”
Since he started working with Freedom Dogs , Matt says he is more relaxed and looks at situations differently . “ I have not felt like me in a long time . At our Freedom Dogs class , I am able to do things without anxiety and have a good time . During a recent training exercise , I smiled the whole time , giggling like a little kid . We are training the dogs , but in reality , the dogs are training us how to behave , breathe and relax . It has truly changed my life and my family ’ s life .”
Matt ’ s wife , Jordan , agrees .
“ Matt is no longer dreading going out like he used to , which is great for our family because we would have to cancel a lot when he had bad days ,” she shared . “ The dogs bring out the Matt that he was before - the playfulness .”
Find out more about Freedom Dogs at www . freedomdogs . org .
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