As most people know, K9s For Warriors is a highly regarded provider of service dogs for veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma. It’s a favorite charity throughout Northeast Florida — and beyond.
But to gain a real understanding of its transformative impact, it’s best to hear directly from one of the program’s graduates.
Rebecca Stephens joined the U.S. Army in 2007 at age 22. She worked as a signal support specialist, assembling, maintaining and disassembling communications equipment. Then, in 2009, she was deployed to Iraq, where every decision a person made could mean the difference between life and death. She called the conditions “jarring.”
“We would have rocket attacks often,” Stephens said. “I remember one day the rockets hit our dining facility. … you never really get complacent.”
She returned from Iraq after 12 months and found herself a civilian again in February 2011. She counts herself lucky that neither she nor any of her company were killed or lost limbs, but that doesn’t mean she came home unscathed. Exposure to constant danger left her sensitive to loud noises and distrustful of others.
She suffered from nightmares, was wary of being in crowds and didn’t know how to go about daily life — even going to the grocery store could be overwhelming.
“When you are in the military, everything’s basically figured out for you,” she explained.
She also missed the bond she’d shared with others who understood what she faced.
“I had a really hard time finding my identity,” she said. “I didn’t really know who I was.”
She turned to self-medication to cope. It started with painkillers, but within a year, she was a heroin addict. She struggled for seven years through countless attempts at detox and rehab programs.
Nothing took.
She lost everything of importance in her life and moved back in with her parents. But then, a therapist suggested she seek out a career working with animals. In the process of finding such a career, she discovered K9s For Warriors.
She applied to the program, was approved and, in 2018, she spent three weeks on the campus and was paired with her service dog Bobbi, a yellow Labrador retriever.
“I haven’t looked back since,” Stephens said.
Caring for Bobbi helped Stephens structure her life.
“She helped me with establishing routine and responsibility, from something as small as being accountable to wake up every day and feed her and wash her,” Stephens said. “That helps me get myself out there to feed myself and to take care of myself … Bobbi helps me change the way that I feel about myself, and she helps me change the way that I view the world.”
In fact, this relationship has ended her addiction. Today, she is six years clean.
As a program graduate, she is also a K9s For Warriors ambassador, traveling to events and speaking on behalf of the program that changed her life.
After one of her presentations, Sheriff Robert Hardwick approached and invited her to see what the Sheriff’s Office has been doing to help inmates at the county jail. Hardwick was supportive of Stephens and her journey and would check up on her from time to time. Then, two years ago, Stephens began to volunteer at the jail. Before long she was offered a job working as a re-entry specialist helping inmates get the resources they need to make the transition back into normal life.
Bobbi also helped Stephens repair her strained relationship with her parents. For the past six years, she has been taking Bobbi on a morning walk at a local park, and her parents joining her on these outings has helped in that reparation.
“I’m just so happy that I have such a great relationship with my parents now,” Stephens said. “And, honestly, it’s all because of (Bobbi).”
To learn more about K9s For Warriors and the transformative work it does, go to k9sforwarriors.org.
