Health
How Rescue Dogs Are Helping Veterans’ Mental Health
For nearly three years, Taykeo Unger Jackson wore the U.S. Marine Corps uniform. He trained alongside fellow service members, completed boot camp and built his life around the structure and purpose of military service.
But when he left the Marines due to injuries, he said that sense of purpose disappeared. He had enlisted at 17.
“It was difficult,” Jackson said. “I think the biggest thing that we lose is purpose. You know, every single day when we put on that uniform that gives us purpose.”
Jackson, who served at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, comes from a family with a long history of military service.
“From my father to my oldest brother, to my oldest sister, we’ve all been through it,” Jackson said.
After being discharged, Jackson said he struggled to adjust to civilian life and lost the connection he had built during his service. He was diagnosed with non-combat PTSD.
“When I got out, I spiraled, I lost connection,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he searched for service dogs and came across K9s for Warriors, an organization on a mission to save veterans from suicide and give dogs a home before being euthanized.
In November 2023, Jackson was matched with Frankie, who quickly became more than a service dog. Jackson describes her as his “battle buddy.”
“One thing in the military that they’re training you upon is that you’re always with somebody,” Jackson said. “You’re always with a buddy that’s to your left or right. And when you get out (of the service), they gotta stay on base. They can’t come back home with you. So, as you go to work … or shopping, whatever, you’re alone. And it’s kind of difficult to deal with. And giving yourself your own personal battle buddy to go with you is something to help you with that.”
Jackson said Frankie reminds him to slow down.
“It’s changed my life quite a bit,” Jackson said. “… I’ve adapted to a new style of purpose where I almost work myself to death, but Frankie is there to stop me from doing that. She will force me to take breaks.”
That connection is at the heart of K9s for Warriors’ mission.
The nonprofit provides trained service dogs at no cost to veterans living with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma.
Since 2011, K9s for Warriors has rescued more than 2,500 dogs from 31 states.
The need remains significant. The organization said roughly 20 veterans die by suicide every day, while more than 1,000 dogs are euthanized.
“They’re trying to save two lives,” Jackson said.
For Jackson, Frankie represents something much more personal than those statistics: She is companionship. She is structure. And, in many ways, she is a reminder that he doesn’t have to face his next chapter alone.
