Capt (retd-RCAF) Medric “Cous” Cousineau, SC, CD, KStG, graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1983.  Upon receipt of his Air Navigator wings in 1984, he joined HS443 Squadron and later HT406 as a flight instructor.  He was awarded the Star of Courage (Canada) for a daring air-sea rescue that precipitated his decades-long battle with PTSD.  

 

He credits the biggest changes in his life to his pairing with his service dog, Thai.  The success of the pairing led him and his wife Jocelyn to found Paws Fur Thought, which advocates and raises funds to pair PTSD service dogs with veterans and first responders in need.  

 

An outspoken veterans’ and mental-health advocate, Cous has received the Nova Scotia Inspiring Lives award and the Urban Animal Innovator of the Year. 

 

He is the author of an autobiography, Further Than Yesterday, That’s All That Counts (copies available for purchase at the conference) and is at work on a second book.