VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange City nonprofit is working to change the lives of veterans suffering from PTSD by providing them a four-legged companion.   

Life after his service in the Navy has not been easy for Orrin Gray.   

“I started having bad dreams — nightmares,” said Gray. 

Gray left the Navy in the mid-1990s and the nightmares, depression and PTSD began shortly after. 

“The struggle become too much and so I reached out to try and find other ways to do deal with it besides just taking medications,” said Gray.

That is when he reached out to New Horizons Service Dogs in Orange City. 

Founder Janet Severt began training dogs at a young age after dealing with a spinal cord injury.

“I know how much the dogs helped me, so I wanted to be able to provide that independence to others,” said Severt.  

Over the past 26 years, she has been breeding and raising service dogs.

The dogs are in training for around two years before they go out and can be life-changing for veterans who suffer from PTSD. 

“They will help bring somebody back to reality. Take them out of the bad place and bring them back into focusing on something good,” said Severt.   

Gray now has Pumbaa — a service dog he said saved his life. 

“He gives me something else to worry about beside just me,” said Gray. 

Severt has placed around 1,000 service dogs in homes around Florida and some in Georgia. 

The dogs also go into homes to help children with autism, people with mobility issues or disabilities. 

It cost around $30,000 to raise and train each dog and Severt provides them for free. 

And the help and companionship they bring to people like Gray is priceless. 

“We just don’t have them out there because they’re pets. We have them out there because we need them,” said Gray.