JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — June is National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center said about 22 veterans may die by suicide daily.
But Charlie Davis, a 28-year Navy Veteran, said he was saved thanks to service dogs provided by K9s For Warriors, a non-profit determined to end veteran suicide.
“PTSD is not really a visual injury, it’s not like you are missing an arm and missing a leg, it’s all mental,” Davis said.
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He did tours in Iraq and said he experienced some things he never wants to see again.
“You start going into dark places,” Davis said. “Suicide starts stepping up to the front because you feel like there is no way to handle it.”
In 2011, Charlie decided to get some help to cope with his PTSD. And a psychiatrist recommended he get a service dog.
“The dog was a godsend,” Davis said. “That was the best move I ever made and that was the best move I recommended any veteran do.”
That same year, Charlie got Slider, a service dog provided by K9s For Warriors. After Slider passed away, Charlie was paired with Lady this past March.
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Charlie works on the USS Orleck on the Northbank, and every day he brings his best friend Lady to work with him.
“Lady picks up on stressors before I start tripping,” Davis said. “She’s already recognizing it, and she’ll come over and give me the nudge and hop on my lap.”
A new study by the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine, in cooperation with K9s For Warriors, compared service dog partnerships to usual care alone.
It found that veterans with service dogs had 66% lower odds of a PTSD diagnosis based on expert clinician assessment when compared to a wait-listed control group.
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“We want people to know that these dogs are more than just a pet for people like Charlie, that they are actually saving lives. This is a battle buddy for life,” Carly Kramer, K9′s For Warrior’s Public Relations Manager, said
And a battle buddy for life is something that Charlie said gives him hope in life and helps him function day to day.
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