Kim and K-9 Bruno

My name is Kim, and I am a retired Inver Grove Heights Fire Department firefighter. I was a firefighter for almost fourteen years. When my symptoms first started, back in 2007, I didn’t even realize that it was from PTSD. Back then, I naively thought that only soldiers from war got that. When I finally did realize that I had PTSD, I still didn’t say anything because I wanted to prove that I was tough and could handle it. I was one of a handful of women on the department and I didn’t want to appear weak in a male dominated field. So, I struggled alone in silence for a very long time. My brother, Adam, is my younger brother but I still look up to him. He is a retired police officer and has a dog through Soldier’s 6. Watching how much his dog, Dash, has helped him and seeing how much he has improved since getting help, helped me gain enough strength to come forward and finally reach out for help for myself.
Bruno is currently eight weeks old, so he is very much in the puppy stage. We are currently working through the puppy biting/teething phase, focusing on house training and crate training him right now. I can’t wait to start the service dog training soon.