Hello… My name is Staff Sergeant (R) John Williams, a 16-year Army Combat Veteran. I served as a Combat Medic and Trauma, Cardiac, Pediatric, and ICU Nurse during my time on active duty. I have deployed on multiple combat missions to Iraq and Kuwait, as well as many humanitarian missions throughout Central and South America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico after many of their natural disasters. After my almost two decades of service to this great nation, I was medically retired from the Army due to severe spinal cord and spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder incurred during the deployments listed above. Now, after 15 surgeries on my spine and a complete fusion of my back, T8-S1, as well as many other surgeries, I find myself disabled, an addict of pain medications, and dealing with complications of PTSD. I am currently in treatment at a place called Warrior Heart. I am working hard to overcome my demons by receiving intense inpatient counseling, working with psychiatrists to stabilize my medications, and many other treatments. This includes the Warrior Heart K9 Program, which has helped me immensely. That being said, I am in the process of adopting a new service dog for my disabilities and to help with my PTSD. Her name is Ayoung, after MA2 Sean Ayoung, a Navy military working dog handler who passed away suddenly of cardiac complications at his home in Washington. She is a 2-year-old Staffordshire Terrier Mix that was found after being bred for dog fighting and rescued by the local shelter. Luckily, she found her way here to Warrior Heart, where she selected me to be her new partner in life, and we saved each other, I believe.

Warriors Heart® provides private treatment to adult men and women 18 and older who are seeking inpatient treatment for chemical dependency, alcohol abuse, and co-occurring psychological disorders relating to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or the psychological effects of TBI (traumatic brain injury). Warriors Heart is a privately funded treatment center located in San Antonio, Texas, where we only treat active military, veterans, firefighters, police, EMTs, and active members from across the United States that belong to organizations that protect and serve the citizens of the United States. Due to the nature of our program, we work with those whose primary diagnosis is alcohol abuse and/or chemical dependency by itself or in conjunction with psychological disorders such as PTSD or TBI. Warriors Heart® provides private treatment to adult men and women 18 and older who are seeking inpatient treatment for chemical dependency and co-occurring psychological disorders relating to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or the psychological effects of MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). The most successful and common treatment track our clients follow is a six-week residential treatment program. The levels of care enumerated below are considered the minimum in recommended treatment for successful outcomes. Our primary mission is to assist each client and family to find the most thoughtful and thorough treatment plan according to presenting symptoms, circumstances, and need in order to achieve success in all areas, such as substance abuse treatment. The treatment plan is collaborative at every level.

Service Animals for Substance Abuse and PTSD Recovery

Service animals can be helpful partners for those suffering from chemical dependency, symptoms of PTSD, or TBI (traumatic brain injury). The relationship you form with a service or emotional support animal is an important step in your healing process.

The Warriors Heart K9 Department provides our clients with the opportunity to purchase a Service or ESA K9 through the Academy program. Each Warriors Heart dog is trained to become an Emotional Support Animal or a Service Animal so that the client can travel with, house, and utilize the dog within ADA compliance. For clients not interested in becoming a Handler, the K9 Experience program is a more therapeutic approach. Clients can learn about obedience training, participate in weekly classroom presentations, go on nature hikes, and simply enjoy spending time with our canine Warriors. Our Academy K9s are trained to have impeccable manners and obedience, to traverse an obstacle course with confidence, to trust the handler in any circumstance within reason, and to mitigate or interrupt PTS anxieties. Warriors Heart dogs are paired with a suitable handler based on disability needs, lifestyle, and activity levels. Warriors Heart Service Dogs are prepared to accompany their handler in public settings such as airports, restaurants, and shopping centers. We train the Warrior how to train, troubleshoot problems, and strengthen the relationship with their dog.

We have two programs available:

• Academy: This is the pathway to becoming a Service Dog Handler. Each client will learn how to handle, train, and use their dog in public and at home. Every dog is trained to mitigate its handler’s specific disability or PTS symptoms. The goal is to spend 120 hours training together, training as a Handler/K9 Team. Our kennel is open 7 days a week for training.

• Experience: This program allows a client to interact with dogs without the emphasis on the academics. We have many dogs available to interact with, play with, care for, and learn some basic handling skills with. Clients can spend up to 4 hours per day at the Kennel.

Service dogs can be helpful partners for those suffering from symptoms of PTSD or TBI (traumatic brain injury). Each service dog is trained to mitigate its handler’s specific needs, meaning the warrior participates in training the dog for his or her own symptoms. For some people, having a service dog provides the purpose and routine needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Some of the service behaviors we are training are nightmare interruption, low anxiety interruption (knee bouncing, hand wringing, rocking, or pacing), panic attack mitigation, and social anxiety mitigation. Sometimes, just having a K9 Battle Buddy helps us stay in our routine, gives us greater purpose, encourages social activities, and helps combat feelings of loneliness or depression.

As part of the healing program, warriors are allowed to partner with a service dog during treatment for chemical dependency and PTSD.

Together with a therapist, the warrior can participate in an assisted therapy session with their service dog companion. This in turn creates powerful results for the service dog and provides an ally in the battle against PTS.

If a warrior has connected with a service dog upon completion of their addiction and PTSD treatment, they’re given the option to take their battle buddy home at the end of treatment. During the long-term recovery process at home, a service or ESA dog can provide a great amount of morale.

So after all of that, now for what we need… the cost of training a service dog here comes out to be nearly $7,500. That includes training, boarding, medical, food, and other supplies like a vest, leash, toys, and training aids.

I need to raise this money over the next 30 days in order to be able to take her home with me to assist with my demons and to save her life. Please assist monetarily if you can; if not, then we understand, but could you please continue to pass this on to your family, friends, and social media contacts.

Thank you for reading our story and your compassion and understanding of how much this will mean to both of us. Any help you can and are willing to give will mean the world to us.