The nonprofit Company 2 Heroes trains service dogs for veterans. COURTESY PHOTOS
When Kate Van Auken retired after 28 years in the military, including multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, she suffered from PTSD and felt deeply lost.
“Your military job and service is so important; there’s so much purpose,” Van Auken said. “You wake up every day making life-and-death decisions. Then you go back to your ho-hum life, and you feel like you have no purpose. And nobody understands.”
Then Van Auken made a life-changing decision… to adopt a retired military dog, Sgt. Ray, who was a bomb-sniffing canine in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Ray was in an incident with an IED (improvised explosive device), and I was in an incident with 10 IEDs,” Van Auken said. “She’s getting her nightmares, and I’m getting mine.”
The two formed an immediate bond.
Kate Van Auken says her retired military dog, Sgt. Ray, helped her after returning from service.
“When I got Ray, I was on the couch, and I didn’t care about myself,” Van Auken said. “I wasn’t eating. I was drinking. All of a sudden, you’ve got purpose. You have to take care of this four-legged dog who expects you to walk them. She got me out and about. She built my confidence.”
Van Auken decided to train Ray as a service dog, and in 2017 she launched Company 2 Heroes, a Danvers-based nonprofit that trains retired military dogs for veterans — for free. She has trained more than 50 dogs so far.
Company 2 Heroes trains these dogs to help vets with night terrors (by waking them up), reminding vets to take their medications and to pick up items. The main benefit, however, is emotional.
“When you’re in combat, you have a battle buddy who has your back,” Van Auken said. “That bond is just so deep. We feel that our dogs are our four-legged battle buddies. The loyalty of a dog is the only place that battle buddy can be replicated. We say, ‘A man’s best friend is a veteran’s best medicine.’”
Two Marbleheaders serve on the board of Company 2 Heroes, Claudette Mason and VFW Commander Ronny Knight.
The VFW, 321 West Shore Drive, is hosting its second 5K on Sept. 13, 9 a.m., to raise funds for Company 2 Heroes.
“Last year, it was so much fun. In all honesty, we had a blast,” Mason said.
People are invited to run, walk or ruck (carry a heavy pack) and bring their dogs. (There will even be water stations for pups along the route.)
Van Auken will be there with her new service dog, Kona. (Sgt. Ray passed away a few years ago.) A breeder will be there, too, with nine comfort puppies.
If you register before Sept. 5, the fee is $35 and includes a T-shirt. To learn more, visit https://loom.ly/3xCqMW4.
That evening, the VFW will host an event with the Guy Ford Band at 7 p.m.
The VFW is hosting its second 5K to raise money for Company 2 Heroes.
