‘I got my life back’: US veterans with PTSD make progress thanks to service dog program

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After working in a crowded and dangerous internment camp in Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O’Brien came home with her anxiety and… post-traumatic stress disorder.

A bouncy Labradoodle and a program in Kansas City helped her get back on her feet.

Dogs 4 Valoroperated by the Olathe, Kansas-based organization called The Battle Within, helps retired veterans and first responders work with their service dogs to help manage depression, anxiety and other challenges.

“Often the veteran with severe PTSD is homebound,” said Sandra Sindeldecker, program manager for Dogs 4 Valor. ‘They are isolated. They are very nervous. They won’t make eye contact. Some won’t leave the house at all.”

The program includes both group and one-on-one training. The goal is to put the veteran and the dog at ease and understand each other. The group takes trips to help veterans regain their footing in public places such as airports. Program leaders also offer free mental health therapy.

The veterans and dogs will graduate in six to nine months, but group meetings will continue.

O’Brien, 40, recalled that the camp where she worked in Iraq sometimes had more than 20,000 prisoners. Violence and riots were common and it caused her severe anxiety.

“When I got out of the military, I assumed that as a veteran you always have to be on edge,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien’s mother saw the playful lab-poodle mix on Facebook and convinced her daughter to adopt the dog she named Albus. Months later, O’Brien heard about Dogs 4 Valor, and the pair joined the program in October 2023.

Now, O’Brien said she could appear in public again — she even went on vacation to Branson, Missouri, “things I never thought I would ever do, probably ever again.”

Mark Atkinson, 38, served in Afghanistan as a corporal in the Marine Corps. He returned home with PTSD and a major depressive disorder, which caused insomnia and anxiety. He adopted Lexi, now 5, in 2020.

Lexi, a muscular cane corso breed, needed Atkinson as much as he needed her. Her previous owner had kept Lexi in chains before surrendering her. Since joining Dogs 4 Valor, the two have been able to go out together and enjoy life.

“I don’t really like leaving the house because I’m safe there, you know?” said Atkinson. “And having Lexi has only pushed me to be more social.”

It has also helped that a group of fellow veterans face the same challenges, Atkinson said.

“We come from the same background, different industries,” Atkinson said. “Same problems. You know, PTSD or traumatic brain injury. And they are all very hospitable too. There is no judgement.”

O’Brien compared life with Albus to a relationship with a sometimes pushy best friend who often wants to go out.

“The best friend constantly wants to make you do things that make you nervous,” O’Brien laughed, admitting that ultimately it’s up to her.

“I have to decide to walk away and just deal with life,” O’Brien said. ‘And that was difficult. And it is still difficult at times, but it is becoming manageable.”

Some veterans said their family relationships have improved since starting the program.

“I can talk and not get flustered and just interact with people and not be so stressed, not have so much anxiety,” Atkinson said. “Or even when I do, she (Lexi) is with me.”

Timothy Siebenmorgen, 61, said his relationships are also better with the help of his 1-year-old American bulldog, Rosie, and Dogs 4 Valor, which he joined in July. He served in both the Marines and the Army and was deployed 18 times.

“You’re in the military and you’ve learned not to show weakness,” Siebenmorgen said. ‘So you think you can handle everything yourself and you really believe that. And then you realize that you can’t do it alone.”

Veterans said the dogs and the program have given them new hope and a renewed ability to move forward.

“I have my life back,” O’Brien said.