Philly.com
MICHELE C. HOLLOW
POSTED: Tuesday, June 3, 2014
It came down to an ultimatum from his wife. If Jason Haag didn’t find a solution for his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), she was going to take the kids and leave.
After 13 years in the Marines, including multiple tours in Iraq, Haag was medically discharged due to PTSD. “After each tour, my PTSD grew worse due to injuries from being shot at and blown up,” he recalled. “I became chemically dependent on pain medications, and slept with a gun under my bed. I didn’t feel safe.”
“My wife’s ultimatum really woke me up,” he said. Prior to that, he had tried all kinds of therapy. Nothing worked. But Haag knew other veterans who’d had success with service dogs.
Haag wasn’t a dog person. But, he explained, “I was desperate. I Googled ‘service dogs,’ and four different organizations came up. One told me that I would have to wait between two and three years. They breed and raise puppies specifically for veterans and people with disabilities. I told them that I would be dead by then.”
Luckily, the next site on his list was K9s for Warriors. His wait time would be six months. “During that time, they called me every week to check on me,” he said. “At month five, I went down to their headquarters in Florida, and spent three weeks training with Axel, the German shepherd I was matched with. I knew caring for a dog was going to change my life. When I came home with Axel and saw the smiles on my kids’ faces, it was the best feeling. My kids, ages 11, 9, and 5, didn’t smile when they were around me. Now, they and my wife saw me as a changed person. Without a doubt, Axel saved my life.”
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