This Bloodhound Dog Is a Member of the Wyoming Legislature

One of the most popular members of the Wyoming state legislature just happens to be a dog named LeRoy—a brown, 80-pound bloodhound who has been a godsend to his owner, Rep. Stephen Watt. “Everybody says good morning to LeRoy when they say good morning to me,” Watt, a Republican from Sweetwater, tells Yahoo Shine.

The dog, nearly 3 years old, has an important spot on the Wyoming House floor, right at Watt’s feet. He’s a service dog for the legislator, 58, who suffers from chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) stemming from a roadside shooting he suffered as a police officer more than 30 years ago. And as far as anyone knows, LeRoy’s the first and only dog to have ever regularly worked the floor of the House. “It’s the first time I’ve seen it in my 10 years, other than the bomb dogs that come through every morning,” House Speaker Tom Lubnau, who granted permission for Watt to have LeRoy at work, tells the Billings Gazette.

Watt adopted LeRoy nearly a year ago from a local bloodhound rescue agency, after falling in love with his new wife’s bloodhound, Rosie. He wanted an obedience-trained service dog—one that could help him fetch items around the house and pull the wheelchair he occasionally relies on due to pain from a bullet that’s been lodged in his spine since the shooting. Those dogs cost thousands, though, so Watt did without. But once he realized how smart bloodhounds were, he explains, he rescued one and trained it himself. “I just trained him to do what I wanted him to do,” he says. “You don’t have to have any specific training—you just have to treat him like a d og. Most treat their dogs like humans.”

Dogs are often suggested by caregivers for people suffering from PTSD, as well as by the National Center for PTSD, which notes dogs “can help you deal with some parts of living with PTSD, but they are not a substitute for effective PTSD treatment.” The site says they can aid in bringing out feelings of love, being good companions, taking orders well, reducing stress and acting as a good reason for owners to get out of the house. Heeling Allies Assistance Dogs, which trains dogs for national placement, adds that mental health service dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support dogs—which all differ—can help people with issues from anxiety and PTSD to seizure disorders and diabetes.

But, while Watt did expect help with physical tasks from LeRoy, he was surprised to find out that his dog has actually helped him keep debilitating flashbacks at bay, and to stop them within minutes by simply by knowing when and how to distract him master. The first time LeRoy helped him fend off a flashback, he recalls, “I couldn’t believe it. I was so dumbfounded that he knew. He got my mind back online.”

LeRoy was shot in his left eye (which he lost) and his spine back in 1982, during a routine traffic stop. The shooter was a young man named Mark Farnham, who had just robbed a bank, and who was caught and imprisoned. LeRoy, meanwhile, recovered, left the police force, and found God—along with forgiveness for Farnham, with whom he became good friends. Eventually, he ran for office, because, he says, “I believe God wanted me to.” He’s remained in the House on and off since 2001, leaving only for a couple of unsuccessful runs for higher office, including County Sheriff and Wyoming governor.

Over the years, he’s tried dealing with his ongoing PTSD in other ways, including with years of EMDR therapy. “It helped me tremendously,” he says, “but I have so many triggers. I was so exhausted all the time, because they would leave me in a hyper-vigilant state for a week to 10 days. With LeRoy, they’re gone in a few minutes. There’s no comparison.”