>> George W. Bush: Today, we've had a national tragedy.

Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country, and I've ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act.

[music] >> Staff Sargent May: Sit up straight and look at me right now.

>> all: Aye, aye, sir.

>> Staff Sargent May: Our mission is to train each one of you to become a United States Marine.

A Marine is characterized as one who possesses the highest of military virtues.

He obeys orders, respects his seniors, and strives constantly to be the best in everything that he does.

>> male: What you did back home, what you did, I don't care.

In the Navy you're gonna be part of a team, and this team is gonna help you.

>> Staff Sargent May: Discipline and spirit are the hallmarks of a Marine.

>> female: Higher.

Higher.

>> Staff Sargent May: Each of you can become a Marine if you develop discipline and spirit.

We will give every effort to train you, even after some of you have given up on yourselves.

>> male: Up.

>> all: Hey.

>> male: Down.

Up.

>> all: Gratitude.

>> male: Down.

>> male: What we do, we help each other out.

You understand that?

I want you to figure something out.

You know nobody else knows how to do it, you help them.

>> all: Yes, sir.

>> Staff Sargent May: From you we demand the following.

You will give a hundred percent of yourselves at all times.

Obey all orders quickly, willingly, and without question.

Above all else, never quit or give up, for we offer you the challenge of recruit training: the opportunity to earn the title "United States Marine."

Now, ears.

>> all: Open, sir.

>> Staff Sargent May: Ears.

>> all: Open, sir.

>> Staff Sargent May: Eyes on.

>> Rear Admiral Thomas Luscher: Congratulations to the newest sailors of the United States Navy.

[music] >> Rear Admiral Luscher: Most importantly, we acknowledge these sailors' families and friends for the important role you've played.

You have my word that the Navy knows that people are our most important asset, and your sailor's wellbeing is our top priority.

The pessimistic sailor complains about the wind.

The optimistic sailor expects the wind to change.

The U.S. Navy sailor adjusts the sails.

I hope you will always adjust the sails.

>> Shari Duval: Since 9/11, we've been in wars.

Over 16 years and tragically we've lost over 6,000 military members killed in action, but what people don't realize is we have close to a million that came home disabled.

And out of that almost three-quarters of them are suffering from an invisible disability called post-traumatic stress.

[music] >> female: I didn't recognize you in your-- [music] >> Louis Belluomini: When I first came back, I mean, the first thing that I wanted to do was touch grass and roll around in it, because that wasn't, you know--it wasn't common where we were at, so.

[music] >> Shilo Schluterman: We got home in the end--like, at the end of October and then we had, like, a month off, you know, to, like, get reacquainted with civilian life and stuff, which is quite the job.

It's very overwhelming.

>> male: Look at that hair.

Wow!

You have grown.

>> Adam LeGrand: I ended up being retired just shy of my tenth-year mark.

When I came back--you know, being a medic we have that little light switch where we kinda separate ourselves.

I just kinda shut it out.

You know, it's like another day in the park.

It was like, you know, Tuesday morning to me and didn't ever let anything bother me, but I out-processed and, you know, the very next day while I was on terminal leave that's when the nightmare started.

[music] >> Shilo: I came home, and we went to this parade and in the parade an ambulance--I had two--my two little nieces with me and an ambulance put their lights and, you know, like, you know, sirens on and, you know, the firetrucks.

And when they did something just happened.

I had, like, a flashback, and I just thought I was there.

I thought we were under attack.

>> Louis: I was driving down the road, and I had a flashback, and I drove off the road.

I couldn't move my arms.

I was frozen behind the wheel.

I couldn't do it.

I mean, I just couldn't physically comprehend that I was in this vehicle back in the States and just driving.

>> Shilo: I assume that I ran, and I did, because I don't, like, recollect that, and I just left, like, my nieces just standing on the side of this thing, and I ran behind a building and hid, you know?

And when my husband found me I don't--he says it was probably like a half an hour, you know?

I'm just--I am still just convinced that we are under attack and everyone is gonna die, and I can't do anything to save them, and I'm just having a complete meltdown, you know?

Like, I don't know.

[music] >> Adam: Things with my now ex-wife were starting to get, you know, dicey, and I'd get into my head that "you know, I can't process this.

I need to make it stop," and the way I was gonna make it stop was to swallow a 45 caliber round out of a 1911.

You know, get back to Ohio, put my kids to bed, kiss them goodnight, go out to the shed.

You know, I had a 55-gallon drum in there.

I was gonna crawl inside so nobody had to clean up the mess and put a bullet through my head.

>> Shilo: I left my nieces at the side of a road, you know?

What kind of person does that?

And so, I knew something was wrong, you know, and I started to think, like, that I couldn't trust my own mind.

>> Louis: You just--you're always fighting for your life overseas, you know, when you're in a combat zone.

It might be an easy day, it might be a hard day, but either way you know that you could go at any point, you know?

You know that it could be your last day.

>> Shari: Our military is the best in the world.

We have an amazing military, but we haven't been able to take care of our kids when they come home.

We're not able to take care of them the way they need to be taken care of.

We owe that to them.

Everybody in this United States owes that to them, because they have sacrificed so much.

Not just them, their families, their children, their wives, their aunts, their uncles, your moms, and your dads.

It's a trickle-down effect.

These are highly productive people, and they come home and they're broken, so K9s for Warriors we fix 'em.

>> female: Come here.

Come this way.

Ready?

Come here.

Ready?

Sit.

Come on.

Yes, come on get it.

Right here.

Right here.

Go.

Yay!

Good boy.

Run this way.

Ready?

Ready?

Sit.

Good.

Go get it.

Go.

Yay!

Hero, here.

Here.

That's a good boy.

Down.

>> Brett Simon: K9s for Warriors is a dream that started 7 years ago to graduate 10 to 12 veterans per year and today as we're filming this we're graduating 10 to 12 veterans a month, so it's a lifeline to veterans and a lifeline to service animals.

>> Louis: Down.

Down.

Yes.

Drop it.

Uh-uh.

Drop it.

Drop it.

Yes, good girl.

Ready?

Go get it.

>> Brett: If you wanna use the term "broken warrior" or "broken soldier," which I don't believe there are, we provide them the assistance that they need to get back to life with independence and integrity, using rescue and shelter dogs to do that.

>> Louis: Yes, good girl.

Brace.

Yes, good girl.

Okay.

>> Shari: In the military they call it "I've got your six."

Warriors have their six, their battle buddies on the right, their left, front of them, behind 'em.

When they come home that's gone, so the service dogs have their six.

They've got their back.

They give them that ability to be able to go back out into public life, civilian life, as they call it, with dignity and independence.

>> Brett: If you go back to what people say in the military, you have your brother to your left, to your right, or your sister to your left, to your right.

When they lose that, when they have to get out of the military voluntarily or forced out because of injuries or what, they no longer--a lot of them don't have that bond with that person there, so using a service animal they have a responsibility again.

They have something they need to take care of.

Then, the unconditional love from a dog, whether you're mad, sad or what, even if sometimes, you know, you can yell at your animal like you do your kid when you're frustrated.

They're always gonna come back.

They're gonna come back and lick you.

They're gonna come back and just nudge you.

They're gonna do something.

It's an unconditional love that the animal shows and nonjudgmental feelings.

They're there just because they love the handler.

They love their veteran.

[music] >> Shilo: Get it.

There it is, get it.

Come here, buddy.

Oh, he's really taking advantage of this.

Javy, Javy, come here.

Come here.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, hey, the water could be cold, actually.

Ooh, that is cold, huh?

Yay!

Good boy.

Good boy.

Good boy.

Javy.

It's a good thing he still has to go.

No, that is--see, that does not make me--it makes me nervous, buddy.

Let's go in, okay?

I know.

See?

It's not good.

[music] >> Shari: There is a big difference between a working dog and a pet and everybody needs to understand that working dogs or service dogs, as we call them in our business, are dogs that are specifically trained to mitigate the symptoms of a disability.

Now, everybody is familiar with blind dogs or hearing dogs, but for invisible injury that you don't see you're wondering what is that dog doing to help mitigate their symptoms?

Well, actually a lot.

>> Shilo: Cover.

Oh, yeah, down.

>> Shari: They're taught "block" and "cover."

For us, we don't see something that's coming at us that might frighten us, but to a combat veteran they see things that we don't, so the dog becomes an invisible shield.

>> Shilo: I'm walking away.

You better stay there.

You better stay there.

Uh-uh.

Sit.

He's like, "I can't do it, Mom."

>> Shari: So, they don't worry about what's coming up behind them anymore.

They're not checking the perimeters and checking every door and worrying where the exit is and what threat there might be for them.

>> Shilo: Good boy.

Good boy.

>> Shilo: I joined the Arkansas Air National Guard in 1999.

I went away.

I became a crew chief, which is like aircraft maintenance.

I worked on--I'm sorry.

There is somebody back there, and he's like, "Hey, Mom, there is somebody back there."

Yeah, so I joined aircraft maintenance because I was--I kept being funneled, kind of, into these less--well, female-oriented jobs, and I just wasn't really interested in that 'cause I knew I could do it, so I wanted to challenge myself a little bit and also kinda set that example for my boys.

That, like, if you want to do something and you have a passion for it or a knack for it, that, like, you shouldn't let a societal role stop you or whatever, you know?

So, I went into aircraft maintenance and worked on F-16s.

And it was really incredibly interesting, but very challenging because it was just such a largely male-dominated field, and I was the only girl that worked in that area.

And so, I had some, you know, difficult things that I had to deal with, 'cause there is--you always have to prove yourself.

I mean, I think men do, too, but you also have to prove yourself, and so--and sometimes that can just get really exhausting having to do it again and again and again.

I deployed in 2005 to Iraq and worked as a mechanic on 16s.

[music] >> Shilo: That was okay.

Actually, my husband proposed to me there, so that was interesting.

>> Walter Schluterman: I proposed to her in Iraq, so I told her it was the heat made me do it, so--but we got into army married housing, so we got to stay together, actually, over there, so it was a lot better than being separated.

>> Shilo: So, I ended up getting put on, kind of, this in-between shift of everyone else.

Most shifts worked either noon to midnight or midnight to noon, but on mine I worked a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift for the majority of my deployment, and so it fell in between.

Also, you know, most mortar and rocket attacks happen at night, and so an additional part of this duty was that when we came under attack, you know, it was my job to call the--everyone to take cover.

And so, it's very--like, everything happened so quickly.

[music] [music] >> Shilo: That was intense.

>> female: It was early in the morning when the paratroopers of Charlie Company were thrown out of their bunks by the force of an explosion near their joint security station, followed by a series of gunshots.

>> Shilo: It was really intense and there was a lot of weight of responsibility for a lot of other people's lives.

>> female: Their building was destroyed by the massive explosion and left more than 30 Iraqi policemen and 5 paratroopers as casualties.

>> Shilo: And also, you're a girl and you really wanna prove that, like, women can make it, you know?

Like, you can do this.

You are capable of not becoming emotional, following the structure, doing your job.

>> Walter: She's a very strong person, and she'll face any challenge, you know, head on.

>> Shilo: I would have to walk home from work every--I would walk to work every night and walk home, and I had to walk through this area.

It was about a mile from my work.

Most of the time they say, like, "We want everyone to have a wingman everywhere," but no one else that I worked with in the Air Force is going to army housing, right?

And then, also no one else is on the same shift, so it's--I felt guilty, like saying, "Hey, I'm gonna need you to pull a guy so that I can be escorted home."

You know, mission--service before self and, you know, excellence in all you do and integrity.

Selfishness doesn't enter into that.

In the beginning I'm like, "Oh, great.

I can do this, you know?"

But I had to walk through this area that had a large population of third-country nationals that are working there as chow hall workers and cleaning crews, and I started to get followed on a regular basis by a group of five, six, sometimes seven men.

They would step on my heels, and they would crowd around me, and they'd stop in front of me and circle, to where I was just stopped and they were talking.

I don't--I didn't know what they were saying.

I couldn't speak their language and--but the intent was obviously to intimidate me, and it was very-- it was very intimidating.

They did a very good job, so, you know, everyone in the military is required to follow the UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

You can't shoot someone that's unarmed.

I'm armed, but these people are not armed, and there was always this fear in the head like, "What am I--what am I--how am I gonna react when they pull me into one of their places, or they take me in between the huts, or they, you know, whatever?"

Because they have the physical ability to do that, and I can't shoot 'em.

Like, I can't.

That would be a nightmare.

It would be a nightmare for the Air Force.

It would be a nightmare, you know, like, all around, and I don't wanna live with that, either.

Like, I don't, so when I--so, it was really difficult.

There were times that my husband could take his lunch, and he would drive me in his little truck, 'cause he had one, and those were, you know, such a relief.

And I didn't wanna tell my husband that this was happening, because I knew then he would be distracted from his job, from his mission, so we got through it, and it was awful.

>> Walter: Well, when we came back, she just-- she just kinda hid.

No.

>> Shari: What is post-traumatic stress?

It's anxiety.

It's depression.

It's fear, nightmares, flashbacks.

They call them demons that come in the night, horrific nightmares.

They see things that we don't see.

A kid walking by with a backpack, that could be a suicide bomber.

We don't see that, but they do.

Sights, sounds, smells are all trigger points that take them right back to the day of that battle or things they've seen or the things they've had to do.

[music] >> Shilo: Javy, do you see what's going on, huh?

Do you see?

>> Korey Eveld: Before Javelin it was hard.

It was very hard.

It was coming home from school to having my mom standing with a gun in her hand, peeking, trying to see who's at the house, when it's just me coming home.

Like, the same schedule every day, always the same time, but she was just so messed up at the time that she couldn't differentiate between what was a threat and what wasn't.

>> Brett: Block.

Block.

Side.

Too excited.

Block.

Side.

Yes, yes, side.

All the way.

Yes.

Cover.

Cover.

Leave it.

Take it.

Bring.

Yes.

[music] >> Brett: Front.

Side.

>> Brett: The training program is based off of what I did in law enforcement and with my training with other dogs.

My father was a police officer, and I followed in his footsteps and became a police officer for just a little over 15 years, and 9 of 10 of those years were with K9.

>> Shari: Well, my son, who was a K9 police officer in Cincinnati, Ohio, after 9/11 broke out to the Department of Defense and the Army needed bomb dogs badly.

We didn't have enough of them in our own military, so Brett volunteered to go and work under the Department of Defense, Department of Army as a bomb-dog handler.

>> Brett: I did it because, you know, as a police officer, being a first responder, I felt that I could still give more with my expertise as a K9 handler and help, you know, do my part to help out, so-- >> Shari: I wasn't really thrilled about it, as no mother is when their child goes off to war, and I prayed a lot, and I was so grateful when he came home, but he was not the same.

[music] >> Brett: Being a contractor you don't come home and redeploy to your base.

As a contractor you just get sent home, so, you know, those guys that you just spent 12, 13 months with and you saw day in day out and sweat and blood with them, they're not there anymore, so that first several months, actually first couple of years, was not well for me.

I mean, you did out-processing, where they give you classes and saying, "If you need help find it.

Don't do drugs.

Don't drink alcohol.

Don't be--don't do stupid things."

And then it's, "Do you have any questions?"

"No."

"Okay, everybody go home," and you get a plane ticket and, you know, 48 hours later you're sitting behind your bedroom door wondering if anybody is coming through.

>> Shari: So, what does he do?

He goes back, and he felt more comfortable there than he did at home, and we talked about it.

We tried to get him help.

He began drinking.

He was a kid that never drank.

So, in an effort to help my own son, which I think any mother on this Earth would do, I'm not unique, I stumbled upon a article that said somebody was trying to use service dogs for post-traumatic stress, which is obviously what he had.

And because he was a dog handler and trainer I approached him on the idea, "What if we started a nonprofit to train and supply service dogs to other men and women like you that are suffering from post-traumatic stress?"

And that's when I saw a light bulb come on, and I thought, "Dear God, I got him back," and I was gonna make that happen come hell or high water, because I didn't know what else to do.

>> Brett: Okay, okay.

>> Shari: So cute, isn't he?

>> Brett: Putting it together, you know, with veterans and dogs just seemed like a natural fit when she said something about it to me, so I actually started designing the logo for K9s when I was over in Iraq, because she was sending me clip art that was just horrendous, stick figures in wheelchairs and all these things, 'cause she's creative, but she doesn't know a lot about the artistic world.

And I just happened to find a silhouette picture that was on the FOB at the time, and it was a guy with his dog, actually, you know, standing in a shooting position, and I thought about, you know, what if we change that up a little bit and move the dog to the side sitting next to him and add the flag and just do a silhouette?

And from there we created what our current logo is, so, I mean, the thought of it from her in the States and then us design--me designing the logo over in Iraq just kinda brought everything together.

>> Shari: And since we have done almost 400 veterans.

I look in each one of them.

I see my son, 'cause it's the exact same way, and all of their moms are praying for a miracle and their wives and their children.

And when they walk outta here they're holding their head high, so I wouldn't trade what I'm doing for anything in the world, and I love these kids.

>> Tahoma Guiry: We have these military heroes that have gone and served and sacrificed so much for us, and they're taught to go out and fight and participate in war, but they're not taught how to come back and reintegrate into society.

So, they come back and they're alone, they don't have their battle buddies, they don't know what to do or where to turn for support for what they're feeling, so they're, kind of, left on their own and kinda forgotten by society.

>> Brett: A lot of times we hear here we're their last lifeline.

They've tried the therapy, they've tried going to couples counseling, the retreats, and everything else and if you've heard it ten times, you heard it a hundred.

"This was my last-ditch effort to get better," and then to watch them come in here for the 21 days and grow here while they're here and then they go home, and you end up seeing somebody that wasn't in school and wasn't working is now actively participating in school, getting their degrees.

They have new jobs.

>> Tahoma: A lot of veterans do not want to admit that they have any issues first of all because it can be a security clearance issue.

They don't wanna lose that security clearance that they have, they don't want to have a stigma and bring any shame on their family or themselves, and also they don't know what the future would be if they admit they have any issue.

"What am I gonna do to provide for my family if I don't have this job that I need to have to support my family?"

[music] >> Shari: The warriors all come in on a Sunday night, and there is 10 to 12 of 'em every class.

We have residential housing.

We make sure it looks nice for the 12 warriors.

So, the night they come in, they've all waited a long time to get here, and so they're all apprehensive.

They're all thinking, "This was a great idea at the time I signed up, but in reality what is dog gonna do for me?

My wife's tried.

The hospital has tried.

I've been on pills.

I've tried everything."

Literally, they come here as a last resort, and I give them the same speech, and then we talk about it, and they're very reserved.

They're very quiet.

I see the same faces, same blank stares, and I tease them that the next day they're all gonna get their pretty little Chihuahuas and that kinda breaks the ice.

Corny I know, but it kinda breaks the ice, and then we start talking about where they live and what about their family and what about their children and what do they like to do?

And all of a sudden they start to open up, because on that couch there is Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and all of a sudden they realize they're with their battle buddies again, the first time they have been with them since deployment.

You can see the ice break a little bit.

You can just watch the blossom start open.

[music] >> Louis: What is that, buddy?

What is that?

[music] >> Louis: I debated on whether or not I was gonna make it to 35 years old and whether I was gonna be able to have a family, you know?

That was what Jessica and I had planned on.

We envisioned this future where we would have this house and have a family that we can interact with and see grow old together, and it was hard to envision that that might not happen.

>> Louis: Star, seat.

Paw.

Yes, speak.

Yes, speak.

Yes, good girl.

Touch.

Yes, sit.

Sit.

Paw.

Down.

Down.

Yes, roll over.

No, down.

>> Jessica Belluomini: I don't know what our lives would be like without Star, honestly.

Before Star came I was like the service dog.

Like, you know, once I kinda caught on to what was going on and what his triggers were and what was going on, I mean, I was always constantly looking out for what's gonna cause a problem.

Or going to sleep at night would be, you know, my head, like, thinking, like, "If he wakes up, I gotta wake up," you know?

Or, like, you know, just him driving to work in the morning, 'cause, like, one of his issues was driving.

Like, you know, I would worry that something would happen to him, you know, and it was Star really--she's just a second set of eyes.

>> Louis: I always explain to people when I give speeches that a manic episode for a PTSD patient can be very critical.

It could be the most dangerous patients that we ever see and the reason for that is because your whole world changes in your eyes.

You feel like you're back there, and you're seeing somebody as not the person that's standing in front of you.

That the person might cause harm to you.

You don't see real life.

You see what's going on in your mind.

>> male: Guys, move.

Move.

>> male: Till their bunkers, yeah.

Get in.

Get in.

Go.

Get in.

>> male: Oh, down.

>> male: Somebody drop their phone?

>> male: Yeah, me.

>> Louis: Yeah, just got mortared by multiple mortar rounds.

>> male: Are you guys good?

>> Louis: It hit right down there.

>> Louis: I had a situation where I almost physically harmed another person because they came up from behind me, tapped me on my shoulder, and I grabbed their arm and almost broke it at some point before I got Star, because I didn't know what was behind me.

And I had a flashback of somebody coming up from behind me, so she--Star will nudge me now.

That's one of the reasons why Star is here, is to prevent that type of stuff, you know?

To prevent other people from getting hurt, but mostly me, to prevent me from getting hurt or getting too stressed out.

>> Louis: Star, forward.

Yes, yes, good girl.

[music] >> Louis: I never thought in a million years that I would ever have problems coming home from a combat zone.

You know, I was used to blood and guts being a paramedic.

When I came home it was startling what was going on.

You know, as a paramedic you could end up going out on a 3-week-old not breathing, doing mouth to mouth, and then the next minute you're going out on a cardiac arrest, 29-year-old that looks like you on the floor, or a motorcycle accident that both people were killed in, and you're trying to do CPR on.

And then, you're back home two hours later eating dinner with your family.

That was, kind of, the stuff that I was used to.

But that wasn't the thing that really affected me.

The things that affected me was the hypervigilance, you know, thinking that somebody might be coming up behind me, somebody might be breaking into the house to get at me.

You know, you slept next to a pistol in a combat zone.

You don't have that at home, or you shouldn't have that at home coming back, because you need to get back to the normal side of things, and it's not normal to have, you know, a pistol underneath your pillow and an M4 next to your head all the time.

>> Louis: All right, relax, and we're gonna take you over to the hospital.

>> Brett: It's hard to look at yourself when you've been in Iraq, you've dealt with life-and-death situations, you come home, and you can't take care of yourself.

They have that built into 'em, that you take care of what is yours, and you're responsible for it, and once they lose that I think that's a little bit of loss of self, and we give it back to 'em by handing them a service animal that's gonna be their best friend.

>> Louis: Star, free dog.

Yes, good girl.

Good girl.

Free dog.

Go say hi.

Make friends.

Make friends.

Star, uh-uh, come here.

Uh-uh.

>> Louis: When she comes off the leash and she does her little jump, she knows she's, you know, off duty and ready to--you know, ready to just play and be herself.

>> Louis: Good girl, Star.

Front.

Front.

Down.

>> Louis: K9s for Warriors did a fantastic job of matching us together.

Her personality, little quirky and fun, and, you know, I have the same kind of personality.

She picks up everything so easily, and we're just in sync with each other.

>> Louis: Go get it.

>> Brett: Using rescue dogs is like jumping into a clown house.

I mean, you don't know what their personalities are when you get 'em.

The versatility is what the veteran needs and the dog starts to read those needs.

If your dog will talk to you, they'll talk to you in body language and that body language, I think, is what you're getting out from the versatility of.

They know maybe what that veteran needs at the time when the veteran doesn't even know, and they'll switch from play mode to work mode back and forth as needed, so that's why we spend the 21 days teaching them how to use that dog.

[music] >> Shari: Hi, sweeties.

Hi, sweetie.

I love you.

I love you.

Hi, baby.

Now, some of our trainers, you heard that click.

Some of them at the beginning they do the click training.

It's just reinforcement and then if they're doing what they ask they give 'em a treat.

It's all done by treat reward, and he's learning.

You're doing a great job.

>> male: Thank you.

>> Shari: This is our dog-cleaning station.

All the dogs get bathed.

All their toys and their bowls get scoured and cleaned twice a day.

>> female: That is so funny.

>> Shari: So, I think you've never been in a kennel that doesn't smell.

Our kennels do not smell.

Better not, so.

Where I'm gonna take you now is the warriors' quarters, and we'll take you--and each quarter holds four warriors: four bedrooms, a common area, a small kitchen, and two bathrooms, so everybody has their own space, so come on in.

The dogs sleep with them, they eat their food in their room, and they're attached 24/7, except when they're in the shower, and even then the dog is in the bathroom area with them.

So, they have to learn to navigate around the dog and then come and get dressed with the dog, and so the dog is never out of their sight.

We try to make it homey looking.

These are top-of-the-line mattresses, which were donated to us, but a lot of the warriors have war injuries: backs or bullet holes or whatever and neck injuries.

Every dog gets a MyPillow dog bed.

I bet you didn't know MyPillow made dog beds.

There is a washer and dryer in each unit-- >> Louis: Day two after we met, I had her on her own bed on the floor, and she woke me up from three nightmares in one night on day two.

I think I woke up at, like, 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock, and 5 o'clock.

She came up to the side of the bed and patted my face, woke me up.

The first time I thought maybe she has to go to the bathroom, and I took her outside, and she looked at me, and she's like, "I don't know why you're bringing me out here, because I'm just trying to warn you something is going on."

And the second time she woke me up I started--I then was starting to realize, "Oh, she's probably waking me up because I'm having nightmares."

That feeling was a relief.

It was just a weight lifted off our--my shoulders, knowing that she's picking things up, like, just so quickly.

>> Shari: So, for three weeks they just don't lollygag around here.

They have to get up.

They have to be on time, which they're used to.

"You be in here at 0900 ready to go.

Your room cleaned up.

You dog has been fed.

You're taken your medications.

You're showered.

You're clean.

You have on your uniform for the day," 'cause we provide them all nice K9s for Warriors shirts.

We want 'em looking like a team, we want 'em looking like a unit, and then they go off, and they go to places that they never go before: Walmart, Target, the zoo, movies, airports, things that would normally set off an anxiety or panic attack.

Half of them wanna throw up.

They're so nervous.

They're so nervous, and I tell 'em, "Twenty-four hours.

Twenty-four hours.

Just please be patient for 24 hours.

This dog does not know you from Adam's house cat."

Strange word to use in a dog business, but the dog doesn't know them.

"Dog's been with his trainers.

You have a big job here.

You have to get this dog to be your partner."

[music] >> female: [inaudible] If I wanted to understand why the logic of people engaged in terrorism, I don't have to agree in that, but I want to see understanding of what informs that kind of behavior.

So, anthropology tries to make that which is strange familiar and that's which familiar strange, and what you did in classwork-- >> Adam: By going back to school it's something that, you know, I started 18 years ago when I graduated high school, and I never completed.

You know, it's gonna help me be able to, like, to make some more decisions and have more choices as to where I wanna work in life and, you know, be able to support my kids, get back to being that real big member of society that, you know, my four-legged furry friend here makes happen.

>> Adam: The best way I can explain this is we've all had those days where we just don't wanna get out of bed.

You don't wanna deal with people.

For me, it wasn't just, like, a day.

We're talking like a week.

>> Adam: You ever been to, say, Walmart on Black Friday?

That could be the same reaction that I have in a 7-Eleven with just one employee in the store and me.

It's claustrophobic.

It's beyond nerve wracking and when there are large crowds of people situational awareness goes into overdrive and before Molly there were times that, you know, employees had helped me get out of the store.

But having her, she makes me living, you know, independently and without fear a reality.

All right, brace.

Good girl.

Let's see.

I don't know if anybody is in here.

This is where--you know, the auditorium that made me first really have to figure out how I work Molly in an educational environment.

Going to a grocery store and going to my kids' gymnastics, that would have never happened without her.

This was a different tool and technique and with the support of the staff and fellow alumni of K9s, you know, this happened and there wasn't a empty seat in this entire room, but we got through it and somehow I got a B plus, you know, so.

>> male: How close did you get?

>> Adam: I'm sorry.

>> male: How close did you get?

>> Adam: How close was I to pulling the trigger?

I was only a couple hours away from seeing my kids, when my best friend told me to pull over and have lunch with him, and, you know, he was sitting there And this guy keeps ordering appetizers, keeps ordering desserts and, like, I'm like, "Dude, what the hell?

I need to get going.

I thought this was gonna be a quick lunch."

And he kept checking his phone and the next thing I know he's like, "Oh, yeah, cool.

We're ready to go."

And he didn't pay the check.

He was like, "Let's just go have a cigarette.

I'll pay the tab in a minute."

And when we got outside that's where I saw the cops and first thing out of their mouth was, "Where is your gun?"

And, you know, it was on my hip, bullet in the chamber.

All I needed to do and all I wanted to do was just go home, kiss my kids goodnight one last time, and swallow it.

[music] >> Adam: Not many people get to say that they've had a second chance, and I'm grateful and if it wasn't for K9s I don't know where I'd be right now.

>> male: Do you recommend the service, then, to other people?

>> Adam: Not only do I recommend it, I advocate for it.

At my college campus up in Syracuse, New York I happen to be the disabled student veteran liaison program manager.

>> Adam: Yeah, Molly, go say hi.

>> Adam: And my job is to help disabled vets and, you know, Molly having the coolest beard in the world makes me more approachable, apparently, and forces me to interact with people.

Just in a couple of days here, one of my buddies that, you know, came to me for help, he's getting a dog.

Another guy, he's got his application together.

He's just waiting for the note from the doctor saying, you know, he's physically cleared to do this.

She works.

If it works for me it can work for somebody else.

And I can't be a combat medic anymore.

I can't be a medic.

It's just physically and emotionally I can't do it, but if I tell my story about her hopefully somebody else will put a gun down and pick up a leash.

[music] >> Adam: Molly, yeah.

Good.

Yeah.

Molly, you mean the world to me.

You've saved my life.

You've really saved my life.

[music] >> Louis: Dear Star, a year and a half ago you had no idea who I was, nor did I know you.

I didn't know your background or where you came from, and you had no idea about my checkered past.

I decided to join the military thinking that I could defend this nation and our people.

I dedicated myself to ensuring that I can make an impact on the future and the type of the world that my son would grow up in.

Little did I know that deployments would change my life forever.

After coming home I was a changed person, falling into some very dark times, sleepless nights, and dangerous situations.

I sought to stop these issues on my own and hide it from any loved one I had.

Life as I had known it was gone.

I was a broken person trying to recover and recovery was much bigger than what I could ever do for myself.

That's when I found K9s for Warriors, where you were training to do a job for someone like me, but not knowing that it was I you would be connected with.

Then I met you, Star.

I was scared and anxious of what might happen, but the minute I met you I knew my life would be different.

The second I put the vest on you, you went to work for your new dad.

At that moment I knelt by your side, buckled your vest at which point you looked into my eyes, and I knew we were going to get through it together.

Thank you for literally being by my side through it all.

You are the true hero in this story.

I'm just along for the ride.

>> Shari: We've saved that dog's life and then that dog is saving the warrior's life.

You know, it's two for one.

You can't beat that.

Somehow they can sense each other's pain, so they rescue each other.

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