New York, NY – This Veterans Day, A&E Network presents a new docuseries following war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as they are paired with shelter dogs trained to help them adjust to life after combat.
This real life series chronicles the fog of PTSD that many veterans find themselves in after serving in combat, and the service dogs that bring them out of it. In each hour, one veteran is matched with a dog adopted from a shelter that has been trained in rehabilitation. Together they take an emotional journey out of darkness, through rigorous training and emotional support, so the veteran can integrate back into normal life. Dogs of War is the crossroad where veteran condemned to a life of isolation and an abandoned dog condemned to a shelter, come together to rescue one another.
“This series is full of raw, real and intensely emotional moments that don’t often get a spotlight in mainstream media,” said David McKillop, General Manager and Executive Vice President of A&E. “Each veteran’s story of survival is humbling and we are proud to create a series that captures the light at the end of the tunnel for these heroes.”
The life-saving organisation behind the series is Paws and Stripes, founded by Jim and Lindsey Stanek. Jim served three tours in Iraq and returned home suffering from severe PTSD. He was struggling, on the brink of homelessness and on a long list to be matched with a costly service dog. Lidnsey and Jim, tired of the road blocks, set out to establish an organisation that would adopt unwanted dogs from kill shelters, rehabilitate them and pair them with a veteran, at little or no cost.
Dogs of War is produced by Custom productions, Inc. and Redtail Media, LLC for A&E Network. Executive producer for Custom Productions is Steve Stockman. Executive producers for Redtail Media are Chris Burke and Jared Cotton. Executive producers for A&E Network are Brad Abramson, Fred Grinstein and Laurie Sharpe.