>>My grandfather served in WW2 and suffered from bad nightmares for the rest of his life, over 40 years. And yet he served admirably and with his life continually at risk. He was no snowflake.
Exactly my point. Your grandfather was no snowflake. I had an uncle who did 32 bombing missions over Europe. I had another who was a POW in Korea. I had another who endured artillery barrages in WW2 with the Purple Heart for one of them. I’ve seen a 4” seawater line blow apart at test depth on a submarine and been blinded (temporarily) and hospitalized after an electrical switchboard blew up with enough energy to instantly melt bus bars. People have endured horrible things in the military, but only this generation needs dogs to hug them constantly so they can function.
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/ptsd-overview/basics/history-of-ptsd-vets.asp
The above is a link to the VA Department discussion of the history of what is now known as PTSD, formerly known as battle fatigue and shell shock. It is not something limited to this generation. Many soldiers of previous generations were not able to function when they returned. This generation is lucky to find better ways of helping our vets.
Vets (and other sufferers) have been completely incapacitated by PTSD. I imagine some of the vets who live on the streets are some of those people.
So, just because my grandfather’s symptoms were limited to the night, so he still could function, I’m not supposed to feel sympathy for those who have it worse? If there had been something which could have relieved my grandfather’s nightmares, even if it was a dog, should I have just told him to tough it out like previous generations did (except of course those who couldn’t).
If a dog helps a person —who fought and risked their life to keep me safe and free— to heal or simply to be able to continue their lives, I am all for it.
I don’t think that those who have gone into war zones, and into areas with land mines and IEDs are snowflakes, even if they do come back suffering in reaction to some of the unspeakable experiences they have had.