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Veteran's Charity Provides PTSD Service Dogs to Help Others Cope
11 Nov
Summary
- Alberta charity launched by retired veteran to honor daughter who died of cancer
- Service dogs trained to help veterans with PTSD, providing social bridge and therapy
- First recipient of service dog is a 15-year military veteran diagnosed with PTSD
In November 2025, an Alberta-based charity called the Kadence Legacy Fund is working to help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by providing them with service dogs. The charity was founded by retired Afghanistan veteran Tina Gillies, who launched it in memory of her daughter Kadence Miller, who passed away from cancer in 2024.
Gillies, who retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2011, faced her own battle with PTSD after her daughter's diagnosis. She then connected with veteran John Dugas, who owns Holdfast K9 and trains dogs to assist people with PTSD. Together, they launched the One Dog One Life program, which matches veterans with specially trained service dogs.
The first recipient of the program is Sally Kolumbus, a 15-year military veteran who was diagnosed with PTSD after deployments in Golan Heights, Syria, and Rwanda. Kolumbus says the service dog will help her with daily tasks and give her the confidence to do things she finds difficult. Dugas, a retired veteran himself, is training a 6-month-old golden retriever named Morgan to be paired with Kolumbus.
The Kadence Legacy Fund aims to continue providing these life-changing service dogs to veterans in need, honoring the memory of Gillies' daughter and helping others cope with the invisible wounds of war.
