Air Force Staff Sergeant Heather O’Brien served the United States in Iraq. When she came home, she needed healing for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Turns out, she needed a dogtor. She got a bouncy labradoodle named Albus.

Her helpful pup works at Dogs 4 Valor in Kansas. An organization called The Battle Within runs that program. The goal: Help retired veterans manage depression, anxiety, and other challenges.

During wartime, soldiers live through extremely tough situations. When they get home, they may feel very sad or worried. Sandra Sindeldecker runs Dogs 4 Valor. She says, “They’re very nervous. They won’t make eye contact. Some won’t leave the house at all.”

Groups at Dogs 4 Valor take outings. This helps veterans get used to public places like airports again. The veterans and dogs graduate in six to nine months. But group gatherings continue.

Service dogs are a major help for veterans with PTSD. There’s proof. Researchers compared veterans without trained dogs to veterans with trained dogs. (In the study, service dogs learned to pick up a veteran’s physical signs of distress. They could interrupt panic attacks and nightmares with a loving nudge.) The veterans with dogs saw bigger improvements.

Ms. O’Brien says, “When I got out of the military, I just assumed that you’re supposed to be on edge all the time as a veteran.”

Then Ms. O’Brien’s mother spotted the frisky lab-poodle mix on Facebook. She convinced her daughter to get him. Months later, Ms. O’Brien learned about Dogs 4 Valor. She and Albus joined. 

She says she can now go out in public again. She even went on vacation.

Ms. O’Brien compares Albus to 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,” she laughs.

Veterans say the dogs, and the program, have given them new hope.

Ms. O’Brien says, “I got my life back.”

In the United States, we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11. The holiday recognizes the continued sacrifices of those who serve the nation. Have you thanked a veteran for his or her service yet?

 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. — John 15:13