Bucky and Nomad from Refusals Lilies With Full Hands. Go read it! Its one of THE most accurate and sensitive portrayals of recovering from abuse I’ve ever read, in any piece of fiction.
I was inspired by Joshua Middleton’s gorgeously clean lineart and colours for this.
It was Sam’s idea. Him being the most qualified on the areas of rehab for former soldiers after all. Although Bucky might be the worst case of PTSD anyone had ever come across. Bucky could handle himself just fine during the day. He had been hard wired to deal with anything and everything no matter the pressure. A lot of things would make him tense suddenly. Certain situations sent him into red alert for no reason. He grits his teeth. He handles it. He tells no one.
The nightmares however, were becoming a serious problem. Several months of sleep deprivation can wear down even the toughest of super soldiers, and Steve starts to take notice.
They visit a training center to meet several rehab dogs looking for partners. The slight tug of a smile on Bucky’s face as he meets them is worth the visit by itself. He chooses a huge black lab. It’s a big bear of an animal with a tail that could clear a coffee table in seconds, and yet it’s so gentle and patient.
They pick up an extra large dog bed on the way home, but one look in those liquid brown eyes and Bucky instantly lets the giant lab join him on the bed. Maybe it’s knowing that someone with even sharper ears than him is in the room to let him know if danger is coming. Maybe it’s just the big warm body and that slow, deep, breathing that is so calming. Maybe it’s just having a friend nearby, but for the first time in a long time, Bucky finally sleeps all the way through the night.
Inspired by the service dog AU drawing over here by beefbasket although I think my own dog ended up in the “completely useless gigantic puppy” zone but ah well
There was a split second there where his like, “wait, what? bro what are you doing?”
On more serious note, PTSD dogs for veterans are so fucking therapeutic. They’re like the one person you can spill your guts to and never worry about ever being judged or have that secret divulged. There are times when I definitely prefer the company of a dog over a human.
Therapy animals save lives.
These dogs are even still so much more amazing. They check rooms before their handler enters, so they can clear it to help the person feel safe. Like in the gif, they are there when panic attacks or nightmares occur, to be something for the person to help ground themselves on, or yes just to turn on the lights. Even more amazing, many people are able to reduce their medication when they have a PTSD service dog there to help them. These dogs are useful for not just veterans, but also victims of abuse, accident trauma, natural disasters, and others. Their training allows them to be useful in situations where medical assistance is needed, as well. Some PTSD dogs are trained to recognize repetitive behaviours in handlers, and signal the handler to break the repetition and stopping the behaviour and possibly injury.
Service dogs in general are just awesome. Remember to respect any that you see out in public. They are not there for you to walk up to and play with, even the puppies!
I was reading an article of a service dog helping a person with schizophrenia. she stated that when she was seeing or hearing things and notices the dog is not reacting in any way, then she is able to ground herself, realizing what she was experiencing was not real and could work through it easier and is more able to ignore the delusions. And she pointed out she feels more comfortable with a service dog as well because well, dogs don’t judge and get angry for things like this
I teared up about this whole post to be honest.
i’ll never not reblog this post. it is so important.
knitting in the dark 