Former Reservist, Rebecca, was left with PTSD after her service, struggling with isolation and symptoms such as panic attacks and anxiety. With the support of Bracken, an energetic spaniel cross, who was paired with Rebecca by a charity that the ABF helps fund, her life is looking positive again.

Rebecca, originally from Herefordshire, grew up hoping to become an Army dog handler. At 18, she joined the Army Reserves and then, aged 21, was an officer cadet at Sandhurst as a second lieutenant with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment.

As a part-time Reservist, Rebecca says: “I worked alongside some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and enjoyed my service.” But she returned home from an overseas deployment changed by her experiences. She says, “It was clear to me and my family that I wasn’t the same person.”

Rebecca had nightmares, anxiety and panic attacks, and says: “I dreaded falling asleep and waking up. I was constantly exhausted and unhappy. I felt the best way to cope was to run away. It made me feel I had some control.”

Rebecca moved to Bournemouth, where she knew no-one and started a new job in engineering. She masked her symptoms and tried to cope, but felt isolated and began engaging with extreme exercise. But she felt emotionally dysregulated, irritable and her short-term memory was obliterated. Noise and crowds affected her so much that she stopped going to the shops and had her food delivered.

Rebecca knew that her life was crumbling around her and plucked up the courage to seek professional help. In 2023, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD. The diagnosis was her first step on the road to recovery.

Rebecca began counselling and then, in mid 2023, contacted Service Dogs UK, a charity that the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) helps fund. The charity trains dogs to help veterans and front-line emergency workers suffering with PTSD. Rebecca initially was worried that she didn’t deserve help. She was matched by the charity with Bracken, a spaniel cross with boundless energy, who was a stray rescued by the Dogs Trust.

Before getting Bracken, she was unsure how she would feel walking a dog wearing a PTSD label. She says: “I decided that, as embarrassing or perhaps shameful as it felt, if Bracken could help me stay alive by the end of the day, it was worth it.”

She initially was terrified to meet Bracken at the Service Dogs’ Yeovil office, under the watchful eye of the charity’s trainers. But she says it was a turning point.

Bracken had been taught positive reinforcement, learning basic commands and was also able to react when his owner was struggling. Rebecca undertook a nine-month training programme, attending twice a week. At the end of the first session, Rebecca took Bracken home. She says, “I had a panic attack, but Bracken just barked at me incessantly. At first, I didn’t understand why he was doing this, but I gradually realised he was just trying to help me.”

Bracken can sense when Rebecca is emotionally dysregulated and will bark or nudge her; and, if she cries, he will lean on her to offer comfort.

“Bracken makes it impossible for me to mask how I’m feeling; he knows everything. He has given me a routine and a reason to get out of bed. I now have a purpose and have a responsibility to Bracken. I am really grateful to Service Dogs UK and the Army Benevolent Fund, which funded Bracken’s training.”

Two years since Rebecca was diagnosed with PTSD, life looks very different. She has left the Reserves and is in employment, even travelling into central London with Bracken on the Tube. She has a new partner and last year ran the London Marathon for the ABF as a thank you for all the assistance she has received.

Rebecca says, “Not a day goes by that I’m not affected by PTSD. At some point, I will be hopefully more recovered. But for now, I am 25, with the future ahead of me. I have people to call, and I have Bracken. I don’t have to be afraid again. Thank you to Service Dogs UK and the ABF. Without your support I may not still be here.”

The ABF was delighted to award a grant of £20,000 to Service Dogs UK in 2024.