BOSTWICK, Fla. -- Layton Ausbon is used to the peaceful rural area of Putnam County. Fresh laundry waves gently outside on the clotheslines. His mom's house is right next to his grandma's house.
But he was patriotic and signed up to serve our country in the army.
His experience in Afghanistan is something he's still proud of to this day. However, he says what he saw was "horrible," As a combat engineer, his job was to clear IEDs. But some exploded.
He says he lost friends. "We had guys lose limbs and arms ripped off," he remembers, unfortunately.
The images have seared themselves into his mind. The nightmares and panic attacks became part of his struggle with PTSD.
So did suicide attempts. Three of them.
Sgt. Ausbon wound up communicating with First Coast News anchor, Jeannie Blaylock. His mom, Sindy, had seen Jeannie talk about K9s for Warriors during a telethon at the TV station. She called Jeannie hoping to get help for her son.
That was three years ago. That was when Sgt. Ausbon sent Jeannie a text message saying, "Hello Jeannie I am just informing you that I am in the hospital. I did a bad thing last night."
Of course, veterans shouldn't blame themselves for suicide attempts, but Sgt. Ausbon was like many who carry guilt.
Jeannie hooked him up with K9s for Warriors. The waiting list, though, was 1 1/2 years because the program is so successful. (A 99% success rate... Almost 500 graduates and one suicide after the veterans get their highly-trained service dogs...)
He and his mom did their best to wait. Sindy occupied her time in Bostwick with needlepoint. She spent hours creating a design of "Christ sitting with all his little lambs." She says, "Without my faith I wouldn't make it through this."
Sgt. Ausbon finally had his turn come up and he came to the First Coast from a base in Kansas to get his service dog, Mason. Now out of the military, Sgt. Ausbon spent three weeks learning the special commands for Mason.
How long did it take to bond with Mason? Sgt. Ausbon says, "Instant connection. Instant bond. He's my buddy."
Sgt. Ausbon graduated the K9s for Warriors program in February 2018. Since then he says he's had no thoughts of suicide. And he's off all of his medications. He was taking 12-16 meds a day for the PTSD issues.
First Coast News is working now to help K9s for Warriors raise money to build a new "Mega Kennel." The waiting list right now to get into the non-profit program is still 1 1/2 years, but the extra space for almost 100 dogs in the Mega Kennel would cut that wait time in half.
If you'd like to give, here's the link: https://www.k9sforwarriors.org/