In 2018, Eric Haynes hit all-time low. He had served 12 years within the Army, suffered a traumatic mind damage throughout fight in Iraq, and was coping with PTSD in addition to the collapse of his marriage.
Haynes was residing in a home violence shelter when he obtained an sudden name from the Wounded Warrior Project. At the time, he had already tried suicide thrice and was planning a fourth try that very day.
“They had asked me ‘have you ever thought about getting a service dog?’ And I said no, what are you talking about. They said ‘this could be exactly what you need,’” Haynes defined.
He appreciated the concept of a canine companion, however ready as much as two years for a fully-trained service canine was out of the query. Luckily, destiny had extra fast plans.
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Two Wounded Veterans Meet
Haynes had all the time dreamed of turning into a singer/songwriter, so when he was invited to attend a songwriting workshop 1,100 miles away in Georgia, he seized the chance.
“At that point in my life, I just thought, ‘this is my new life.’” Haynes stated. “I have to take a chance; I have to step out, so I did.”
While checking in for the occasion, Haynes met a lady named Tricia. As they chatted, she occurred to ask if he knew any veterans. Tricia had been working with a retired army canine named Ciara for 3 years. The 10-year-old pooch had additionally seen fight in Iraq, and like Haynes, she suffered from PTSD because of her experiences there.
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Haynes knowledgeable Tricia that he was a veteran and shared among the struggles he was going through. They agreed that man and canine ought to meet to see if they might be a very good match.
“She opened up the van and Ciara jumps out of the van and she comes over and she puts her big mitts on my shoulders and she starts lapping these kisses on me,” Haynes recalled. “That was the moment I met Ciara. That was the moment we became a team.”
Haynes turned so caught up within the second that he unintentionally activated the automobile alarm button on his keys. Despite the loud noise (one in all Ciara’s PTSD triggers), the canine by no means flinched. Tricia was amazed.
“She’s chosen you as her safe place,” Tricia advised the tearful veteran.
“And I knew Ciara was my safe place, too. We’ve been inseparable ever since,” Haynes stated.
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A New Leash On Life
With Ciara by his aspect, Haynes discovered new hope and inspiration. He pursued his music profession, started counseling different veterans in want, and even fell in love. He is now engaged to be married.
Sadly, Ciara handed away on May 20, 2022, on the age of 14. Haynes marched in her honor throughout this 12 months’s Jordan-Elbridge Memorial Day Parade. His aim is to make use of what Ciara taught him to point out different veterans that there’s hope after struggle.
Haynes can be engaged on an album that Ciara impressed him to put in writing. It will embrace the music Tears of Joy, which he wrote the day he met Ciara on that fateful day in 2018. It goes, partially:
“I realized then and there you were a soldier just like me. You suffered greatly because of war, but now you’re safe with me …”
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