October isn’t just a loveable Golden Doodle.
“That dog saved my life,” said Sara Hillyard, outreach coordinator for Augusta’s chapter of Pawsitive for Heroes, an organization which helps veterans connect with service dogs.
After six years in the Army including a deployment to Iraq, Hillyard returned to a life that was marred by post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I have two beautiful children and a fantastic husband,” she said. But the aftereffects of the trauma she experienced while deployed hindered her daily life and her relationships with her family. She recalls a debilitating panic attack while standing with a cartful of groceries at the supermarket.
When her service dog October entered her life, the animal radically changed it for the good.
Hillyard and October can often be found at area events promoting her organization, touting the benefits of service animals and linking veterans to needed help.
“Pawsitive for Heroes is a strong, mission-driven program dedicated to providing highly trained service dogs to Veterans who are medically referred by the VA or their healthcare provider. We are committed to restoring independence, confidence, and quality of life through the power of expertly trained service dogs,” according to the Pawsitive for Heroes website.
Chris Kreiger started WNY Heroes in Buffalo, New York and Pawsitive for Heroes came out of it in 2013.
Kreiger had served as an Army medic and was involved in multiple IED explosions, causing “significant hearing loss in both ears leaving him to wear hearing aids. Further complicating his short- and long-term recovery, Kreiger experienced a traumatic brain injury,” the website said.
His goal with WNY Heroes is to “ease the transition from combat to civilian life, and eliminate the hardships and complications that too many veterans continue to experience in America today,” the website continued.
The service dogs spend 10 months training with people at correctional institutions mainly in New York, but the organization announced in December 2024 that it was expanding into Wyoming. Then they undergo additional training for another six to eight months.
Getting a dog can be a lengthy process because of the amount of training involved.
There are different levels of animals who provide support for their owners. Service dogs are at the highest end because they “must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability,” according to ADA.gov.
This can mean “a person with diabetes may have a dog that is trained to alert him when his blood sugar reaches high or low levels. A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to remind her to take her medication. Or, a person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure,” the website continued.
For Hillyard, October has been trained to help her if she’s experiencing anything related to PTSD.
“He nudges me,” she said. “It’s ‘move on, let’s go.’”
The program has been in the Augusta area about two years, and a few veterans have recently received their dogs.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
