HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — K9 Partners for Patriots in Brooksville is a nonprofit that connects military veterans with service animals and builds a lasting bond between the two and the organization making the match.

The group’s mission is to find the perfect pairing for veterans who need the assistance and to follow up with the two as they continue with their lives.

Spectrum Bay News 9 recently met Woody Olasin from Spring Hill in Hernando County to talk about his experience with his service animal, Ruby.

Olasin is healing from some of the scars that come with military service — with a new best friend.

When Olasin clips the service animal vest on, it means Ruby is ready to work.

She makes for a great friend at home and allows Olasin to go out in public.

Before Ruby, it was tough for Olasin to simply enjoy a meal out.

“I couldn’t go to crowded places,” said Olasin. “I’d go to restaurants. I’d sit with my back to the door. I would constantly look for the escape routes.”

Even sitting next to a stranger caused anxiety.

Olasin suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He served in Vietnam and retired shortly after Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s.

He spent 20 years as a Navy Air Crew Chief/Engineer.

In one traumatic moment during his service, he barely survived a narrow escape.

“In the Navy, that’s just considered a hard landing,” he said. “But it was a hard one. I ended up losing my fifth vertebrate on that one.”

It was a long road to healing. Up until two years ago, Olasin always felt PTSD creeping up.

“I was always looking over my shoulder,” he said.

But then, came Ruby.

Olasin got matched with Ruby at K9 Partners for Patriots.

They are headquartered in the Tampa Bay area and help veterans across the country.

While Ruby loves coming to the training classes, it is Olasin who benefits.

“Now, if someone gets behind me, Ruby gets behind me,” he said. “She’s got my back. I can get out now. I go places, as long as I have Ruby, I’m fine.”

Mary Peter is the founder of K9 Partners for Patriots.

She told Spectrum News how veterans transform through their program. 

“It gives them a mission. Gives them a job to do. They have to train every day, so it occupies their mind,” Peter said. “It gives them exercise and it just changes their lives because these dogs become their medical equipment.”

Ruby has saved Olasin’s life in more than one way.

He is diabetic and Ruby stepped in during a recent episode after a walk.

“I got there, I sat down and passed out,” Olasin said. “She starts barking. Service dogs don’t bark.”

And last December, on another walk, Ruby did another rescue.

“I made it to two yards from my house and face planted in the middle of the road. She actually laid on top of me barking,” Olasin described the incident. “I had a heart attack.”

He says his new friends at K9 Partners are more than that.

“I look at K9 Partners for Patriots as family now,” he said. “They will not leave a veteran behind.”

With a vest on or not, Olasin says Ruby is a godsend, who will never let him walk alone again.

This reporting is a new feature Spectrum News is sharing you, a segment we call “Pursuit Unlimited.”

We are featuring people who do not let the obstacles in their life keep them from unlimited pursuits.