ALBANY, GA (WALB) -
When soldiers come back from war, many of them suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
Many veterans use service dogs to help them cope with injuries from war.
Deerfield Windsor School and St. Paul's Episcopal Church sponsored a charity run at the Marine Corp Logistics Base to raise money to help a local veteran who needs a service dog.
This black labrador named Rudy is more than just man's best friend.
"He knows when I am not feeling well, he knows things that I don't even think of, he reminds me to take my medication," says George Torres.
Rudy is a training dog for George Torres who served in Combat Logistics Battalion 4 in Japan.
"It helped me make the transition back into civilian life, I still have trouble with that and I still have some issues, as people can imagine, from being in combat," says Torres.
Dogs like Rudy are trained to work with soldiers who've suffered post traumatic stress or other injuries.
"A lot of war injuries, there are some you can see, somebody loses an arm or a leg, but there are a lot of injuries that happen inside, and you cant see those injuries and that is where these dogs really help," says Colonel Don Davis, M.C.L.B. Albany Commanding Officer.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Deerfield Windsor School sponsored a 5k Charity run to raise money for the program.
"What we want to do, and we are hoping that this will continue, we want to help defray some of the costs to the veteran so that our community veterans will have more opportunities for these service dogs," says Cathy Jones, 5K Director.
The dogs can help them handle the stress of going out in public or with tasks at home.
"Some of the dogs are trained to lick or interact with an owner so that if they are having a flash back or having some sort of episode, that the dog will help them recover and help stabilize the person," says Davis.
They raised about $6,500 that will go towards helping a local warrior who served in Iraq get a service dog.
"It is going to open up so many doors for him to be able to feel more comfortable going out in public, to have the dog there to help him with panic attacks and flashbacks" says Pam Barfield, Warrior's Wife.
Helping her husband overcome his invisible wounds from war.
To find out how you can donate to the K-9 for Warriors program click here.
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