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SALT LAKE CITY — Betsy Feaster says she took more home with her from her service in the U.S. Air Force's Office of Special Investigations than just gratitude for getting to serve her country.
"Right when I got back from Iraq and Afghanistan, … I didn't sleep at all," she said.
But the final tipping point was when she went skiing and suffered negative reactions to hearing loud avalanche cannons.
"Avalanche cannons would go off, I would start to feel nauseated, and oftentimes I would vomit on the ski slope," Feaster said.
Feaster, like many veterans, heard bombings and ambushes while in the Middle East. After returning home in 2008, she struggled to adapt to loud noises at home, ranging anywhere from fireworks to cars backfiring.
She and her husband decided a service dog could help. Now, Feaster doesn't go anywhere without her black Labrador retriever, Maynard.
Maynard can smell Feaster's cortisol levels, and will alert her before she gets too stressed. He makes her sit down and hug him until she's feeling calm again.
"He has really changed my life for the better, and I just want other folks to have that as well," Feaster said. "I just want folks to know that if they're hurting, if they just need a companion, especially veterans — if the war or any experience made your life worse — you might want to try a dog, because they can make your life so much better."
"Mine did," Feaster added. "I'm much happier. I'm more like myself."
Feaster's passion for service dogs is what got her involved in Dog Training Elite, an in-home dog training service based out of Salt Lake City, where she is now CEO. Founder John Mestas started the organization around eight years ago, and it has grown rapidly, with 84 franchises across the country so far.
Around two years before its founding, the owners also launched the Malinois Foundation as part of Dog Training Elite's effort to give back to the community. The foundation trains dogs for free to help veterans. It also caters to survivors of traumatic events and victims of sexual violence who could benefit from a service or therapy dog.
"Giving back to the community, having integrity in what we do, and being the best trainers that we can possibly be are the pillars of our organization," Feaster said.
The dogs are trained to cater to each recipient's needs. For invisible disabilities, that could include reducing anxiety in social situations, stopping self-harm behaviors, providing deep pressure therapy and sleeping next to a veteran to help them feel safe.
For visible disabilities, dogs can help veterans who need mobility assistance, including opening refrigerators, getting medicine or an EpiPen and walking next to a veteran in a wheelchair to stabilize them.
"It's endless in what the dog can do," Feaster said. "All we need from the client or recipient of the Malinois Foundation is just to know what's wrong, and there's a very high likelihood that we can train the dog to help."
Feaster said that while medicine can be useful to help with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, she hopes people will also consider a therapy or service dog as another coping tool.
"I just want everyone to know that it's OK if you have an issue; and if you're willing to give a dog a chance, especially veterans, they can completely change your life and bring you back to who you were, despite all the things you may have gone through," Feaster said.
She highlighted the local culture that made Utah a great place to launch Dog Training Elite, saying many people, especially veterans, move to the Beehive State seeking the serenity of nature, the support of a community and a dog-friendly and family-centered lifestyle.
"Our No. 1 driver is to help the community, especially here in Utah, where we started," Feaster said. "We love Utah, and we want to help anybody that we can."
"We're here for you. We can make your life a lot better," Feaster added. "We just don't know how much good dogs can do."
