A non-profit is helping a Massachusetts soldier along the road to emotional health with a new companion at his side.
When Staff Sergeant Eric Estabrook returned from the second of two tours in Afghanistan, he had invisible wounds that he still has trouble discussing years later.
"They are scars you can't see from the outside but there are guys just like me out there who had some real issues and you just have to ask for help," he said.
Realizing how a companion might help him heal, Eric from Canton, living in Dorchester now, contacted California-based non-profit Rebuilding Warriors, whose motto is "Saving warriors... one dog at a time."
The organization made this connection - an 8-month-old German Shepherd with the perfect disposition and name - Freedom - for the job.
"A dog provides emotional support that another human can't give. It's very hard to explain what's going on in their heads, to their spouses, to their friends. But they can talk to a dog," said Jeff Anderson, CEO of Rebuilding Warriors.
"This is just one small way we can give back to these men and women who have sacrificed so much," said Freedom's breeder and trainer Kevin Williams, of Diamond Match German Shepherds in Leverett, Massachusetts.
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He has spent a few months, making sure the transition and the healing process will be smooth.
"The handoff is actually a wonderful experience, a little bit sad. But a wonderful experience," Williams said.
"She's already changed my life and I know that we'll continue to work together I know that things will get better," Estabrook added.
It appears they already have.
The funding for this new therapeutic partnership comes from Warrior Thunder in Millis.
Saturday night, Freedom will officially go home with Eric at the end of a special fundraising event in Middleboro.
