Incredible Moment Captured: Service Dog Calms Soldier's PTSD Reaction During An Interview

September 20, 2014

War veteran Erick Scott had just been paired up with Gumbo, a black lab service dog, at K9s for Warriors.

dog calms soldiers ptsd
Photo: Tanya Dvorak / K9s for Warriors

He had placed Gumbo in a down position, and, like the other service dogs at K9s for Warriors, Gumbo was obeying. But then Scott began talking about his PTSD.

All of the sudden, Gumbo stood up and broke his down position. He got up on Scott's lap and started nudging his face, eventually licking him. Scott spontaneously stopped his interview and said that he didn't realize he was getting "agitated," but Gumbo picked up on it. The distraction from his dog enabled Scott to change gears.

Scott says he called his wife and told her he was "amazed." Just watch: