Update: 01/11/2023

I'm so happy to let everyone know that I was able to bring Mona home. She is such a sweet dog and and does her service work well. We'll be spending a lot of time getting to know each other and I have some training to keep up with. I'm ready for my new partner to join me in my recovery journey. I couldn't have brought her home without all of your help. Thank you so much! I am leaving my fundraiser open as I still have a balance to pay off. Again, thank you for making this possible.

Update: 01/01/2023

Thank you all for your generous help. I'm excited to let you all know that I finished my residential PTSD program and returned home a few days ago. The donations to date have been enough where I can bring Mona home and I'm so close to being able to pay her balance in full. I am currently on a road trip with my husband, heading to San Diego. I will be meeting Mona for the first time on Tuesday and then will spend a couple of days doing my handler training. By the weekend I hope to be back on the road headed north to Spokane with Mona. Just knowing she'll be by my side to give me the support and confidence to continue through my PTSD treatment has been, well, I'm not sure how to express it. I'm excited and hopeful, and those are two words I haven't used in a few decades. Thank you everyone for your continued support, for both Mona and me.

Hi everyone,

My name is Damon Sarin, I’m a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served from 1986 until I was medically retired in 1993. I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder upon my retirement and in later years with complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as a result of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) during the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

As I write this I am attending an intensive residential PTSD program at the American Lake VA facility in Tacoma Washington. The program here will help set a foundation for my treatment after I am discharged. Because my road to recovery will be a long journey my mental health providers suggested that I look at bringing along a psychiatric service dog to help me mitigate my symptoms. After looking at options and realizing that most non-profit organizations providing service dogs to veterans have waiting lists of three to five years, I decided to go the route of private training and purchase. Last month I found a trainer in San Diego that had a yellow Labrador Retriever in training to be a PTSD service dog. Her name is Mona and pictured above. Mona’s training includes being able to interrupt me from nightmares, interrupt my anxiety and panic attacks and even being able to alert me before they happen, provide deep pressure therapy to keep me grounded, help me find my way back to an exit when in stores and to help me regain a sense of confidence when out in public.

Mona is almost done with her training and next month in January my husband and I will be driving to San Diego from Spokane to meet and bring home Mona. I am starting this fundraiser of $5000 to help pay for the second half of the balance due.

More about Me

For someone that has been hiding in the shadows for the past thirty years, I have only recently been more open about my struggles with my mental health issues with my family and friends. I have always struggled with not feeling as deserving as others that sustained their injuries in combat. PTSD, anxiety and depression are very controlling, and the symptoms range from nightmares, anxiety, isolation, anger and confusion and a lot of distress. Eighteen months ago when my symptoms started spiraling out of control I decided to go to my local VA for help. I needed to get control of my life back, I needed to find a way out of this hole. What I learned so far is that my experiences in the navy were not isolated, and that trauma is trauma and pain is pain despite the source of the trauma. I also learned that this road to recovery is not an easy path, nor is it an overnight fix.