Aria is more than a pet. According to her owner, Army veteran and CPD retiree Brian Moseley, she's his therapist, personal trainer and most trusted companion.

“She helps me with PTSD, anxiety, depression, anger, and hypervigilence*,” Brian says. “Taking care of her gets me out of bed and makes me get a little exercise too.”

Known to friends as “Tic Tac,” Brian attends our Thursday night Freedom Sings USA class. Aria is always by his side.

“She even comforts other vets in the class when they are having similar issues,” Brian adds. “She's a little over two years old, was obtained through Warrior Freedom Service Dogs.

Professionally trained to sense episodes of elevated anxiety in veterans suffering with PTSD, Aria was paired with Brian a little over two years ago.

“We're a pet-friendly group here,” says class instructor Albert Jarvis. “We consider Aria a member of the class.”

Albert jokes, “To be honest, she's probably a better singer than SOME of the members.” He didn't name any names.

The Thursday night class meets at the Privateer Yacht Club (in Chattanooga, TN) and via Zoom. For information about this or our other weekly classes, see our CLASS SCHEDULES AND LOCATIONS page for details.

*Hypervigilance is an elevated state of constantly assessing potential threats, often exhibited by victims of PTSD or other forms of trauma.

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