We are a military family who moved up to Alaska in September of 2016. We were excited for our new adventure and fell in love with the wild beauty of Alaska almost immediately. It wasn’t long before we decided that, God willing, Alaska would be our forever home.

In May of 2021 Justin was medically retired from the Air Force due to PTSD. In the two years preceding his retirement, he was sent to inpatient treatment for PTSD and alcoholism six times. In the months following his retirement, as fall gave way to winter, he began to struggle with the debilitating symptoms of PTSD and started self-medicating with alcohol. Desperate for healing for himself and motivated by a strong desire to be there for his family, Justin entered Warrior’s Heart treatment program in Bandera, Texas in December of 2021. That decision changed everything.

While at Warrior’s Heart, Justin chose to participate in their K9 program. Through the Warrior’s Heart K9 program, patients are given the opportunity to adopt a service dog upon completion of the program. Justin learned how to train dogs in basic obedience as well as service related tasks and discovered that he had a natural gifting for dog training. During his time in the kennels, Justin formed a strong bond with a little German shepherd/Belgian malinois mix named Lexie. They went on hikes together and chilled together in her kennel after particularly stressful days. Lexie began attending therapy sessions with Justin and learned to tell when he was anxious or disassociating and how to help him during a flashback. When Justin came home seven months later, Lexie came too.

Adopting Lexie as his service dog saved Justin’s life. Having her at his side gave him the ability to start living again- engaging in community, regaining his independence, and looking forward to the future. Working with dogs gave him a sense of purpose and enjoyment. As a family, we are so beyond grateful at what God has done, bringing healing and reconciliation to our family. When we say we know first-hand that service dogs save lives, we mean it.

We started HRT K9 because we want to bring the hope of recovery and the healing that we’ve experienced to other individuals and families who are walking through the same struggles we did. Typically, a fully trained service dog costs anywhere from $20,000-$40,000- well beyond what most disabled Veterans can afford. We don’t want that to be a barrier to the hope and healing that a service dog can provide.

Our vision is about more than just the dogs, though. We want veterans and others in our community who are living in isolation and without any hope to have a place where they belong. Where they can gather and experience community and family. We will match veterans with the right service dog for them and then provide individualized training and support in service-specific tasks that will help that veteran life a fuller life. We will also build a community gathering space for reunions and doggy play dates as well as family style dinners and game nights.

Long story short, we want what God has done for us to spread across this valley, and further, Lord willing. We want to see individuals in recovery and families united and whole.