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Returning to civilian life after military service can be a significant challenge, particularly for veterans struggling with PTSD and other disabilities. U.S. Marine veteran Bill Lins, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan for 12 years, faced this struggle upon his retirement in 2016. The transition was difficult for him and he felt like he was trapped in a life filled with alcohol and broken relationships.
But then, K9s For Warriors, a nonprofit that provides service dogs to veterans and helps to keep shelter dogs from being euthanized, reached out to Lins and his life began to turn around. In August 2022, they paired Lins with a service dog named Link, a previously malnourished rescue dog.
Lins describes Link as the "missing puzzle piece" in his life, bringing significant change to his daily existence. "I feel like he's my soulmate but not in human form, we do everything together and we fit together so well,” Lins explains, “He has changed my world.” Now, Lins says there’s peace within his family and in his daily routine.
Since its inception in 2011, K9s for Warriors has placed more than 15-hundred shelter dogs with veterans in need of help.