Podcast Description: Life with Service Dogs is a Canadian-based, limited series podcast that highlights the everyday challenges and triumphs service dogs and their handlers face. This podcast is informed by a research project titled “Supporting Canadian Veterans working with Service Dogs” led by Dr. Linzi Williamson (PhD, Assistant Professor in Psychology & Health Studies at the University of Saskatchewan) and an Advisory Committee consisting of Canadian Veterans and service dog trainers, providers, and researchers. This research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). This podcast is produced by host Dr. Linzi Williamson and Grace Rath (M.A., Service Dog Project Coordinator). Submitted Guest Bio: Bronwyn Edwards is a service dog handler with lived experience of PTSD. She is grateful to have spent the last 10 years as a civilian in a Veteran-run organization: Audeamus Service Dogs. Today, she has become a trainer, educator and administrator within the program. With a special interest in developing creative and holistic educational tools, she loves learning from those around her, and sharing that knowledge in accessible ways for others to experience. Bronwyn continues this work because of all the Veterans who have shaped her journey, and is currently studying to be an addictions counsellor. Links Submitted by Guest: https://www.audeamus.ca/ https://linktr.ee/audeamus?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio Episode Summary: In this episode, Bronwyn shares her involvement with a Canadian service dog training program, journey with her service dog Leia, and experiences connecting with veterans and first responders working with service dogs. She notes some gaps in service provision across Canada for people who want to acquire and train with service dogs. She provides examples of service dog training struggles for people with disabilities like PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). Towards the start of our conversation, Bronwyn describes a time when she struggled with thoughts of suicide and thinking her service dog would be better off without her. She describes hers and others' experiences accessing public spaces with a service dog and preparing for it as someone with PTSD. She explains the importance of learning to recognize when a service dog is engaging in their trained tasks rather than misbehaving or being disobedient. She describes her experience becoming a service dog trainer and working with the research team investigating the role of service dogs for veterans with operational stress injuries (OSI). We discuss the current landscape of educational and training models in Canada for people who want to become a service dog trainer. She describes the retirement process with Leah and what it's like training her puppy and service dog prospect Luna. She shares her thoughts on the current service dog environment in Canada, the varying sources of information about service dogs, and some of the risks for handlers and service dogs who access public spaces together. We discuss the topic of stigma related to different disabilities, subtypes of service dogs, and being a veteran or former service member. We end by discussing the importance of humans connecting with nature and non-human animals and the responsibility we have to care for them. Related Resources Nieforth, L.O., Rodriguez, K.E. and O’Haire, M.E. (2022a) Expectations versus experiences of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service dogs: An inductive conventional content analysis. Psychological Trauma 3, 347–356. Whitworth, J., and Stewart, C. (2024). Understanding strategies for matching service dogs to military veterans with PTSD. J. Vet. Stud. 10, 187–198. doi: 10.21061/jvs.v10i1.514 Williamson, L., Dell, C., Chalmers, D., Cruz, M., & De Groot, P. (2021). Strengthening Zooeyia: Understanding the Human-Animal Bond between Veterans Living with Comorbid Substance Use and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and their Service Dogs. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 10(2), 20-47. https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.202 Williamson, L., Duncan, R. C., Rath, G., Dixon, A., Chandler, C., & Dell, C. A. (2026). Understanding the Diversity of Consumer Experiences with Navigating Canada’s Service Dog Industry. Social Sciences, 15(6), 365. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060365 Linzi's Research Lab Website: https://pawsitiveconnectionslab.com/ (The views expressed in this podcast are solely of the guests and/or host.) Intro music by Evan MacDonald.
