SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) — Charlene Burns spent seven years serving the United States, but it’s taken over ten years for her to live a normal life.
“I joined the army in 2004 and served until 2011, during which time I did two deployments to Baghdad, Iraq, as military police,” Burns said. “I was a gunner in both my deployments. We worked hand-in-hand with Iraqi police, so I had seen a lot.”
When Burns came home, she had kids right away and suffered PTSD, depression and anxiety. It wasn’t until 2022 that she decided to take a new step to get help.
“After visiting with a friend of mine, she had a service dog and I saw firsthand all the benefits and everything that she got out of it,” Burns said. “So as soon as I returned back home, I did some research and I came across Canines for Warriors.”
Canines for Warriors is a program that trains and connects service dogs with veterans. Burns applied to the program ,and within two years, she met her service dog Corra.
“When I entered the run, which is the play area where they had her, she immediately ran up to me, stuck her head between my legs, and we just collapsed with each other,” Burns said. “And I just loved on her. And she accepted me right away.”
Corra is a two-year-old white golden retriever from Israel that now spends her time being of service to Burns.
“Since getting home with her, it has been night and day before,” Burns said. “I didn’t like to go out. I put on a fake smile, I try to even avoid family functions. It was rough. But since being home with her, it’s like I get to live again. It’s amazing. It’s wonderful.”
Since uniting with Corra, Burns has highly recommended Canines for Warriors for all veterans going through hardship.
“It’s a wonderful program,” she said. “They do wonderful things. They have amazing dogs that help hundreds of people every year.”