A Las Vegas Army veteran living with PTSD says a free service dog from Reno-based Liberty Dogs has changed his life

What happened

Former Army Sgt. Rich Earl of Las Vegas now spends every day with Reagan, a 2-year-old black Labrador retriever trained to help him manage health problems he connects to his military service, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Those include post-traumatic stress disorder, back pain and cancer that later led to kidney disease.

Reagan came from Liberty Dogs, a Reno-based group that provides service dogs to veterans at no cost. Earl and Reagan are among the first four pairs to graduate from the group's pairing program, according to the Sun. "Now, I have purpose, motivation," Earl told the Sun.

A veteran's path to a service dog

Service and the return home

Earl enlisted in 1989 at age 18 and was deployed six times to places including Panama, Kenya and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Sun reported. He left the military at 25 and had a hard time adjusting to civilian life, finding work and getting through a divorce as his health declined.

He became a liquor runner at the Venetian in 2000 and retired in 2025 after doctors found an aneurysm on one kidney and a cancerous mass on the other. He was already being treated for back pain, PTSD and breathing problems he said were likely caused by toxins and burn pits during his service. His wife learned about Liberty Dogs from a colleague at the local Veterans Affairs medical center.

What Reagan does

Reagan knows 44 cues, including jumping onto raised surfaces and lying down on command, and the two practice daily, according to the Sun. She carries Earl's rescue inhaler in her vest and alerts him when she senses he is having trouble breathing. Earl said that in the month he has had her, she has brought his family closer.

How the Liberty Dogs program works

Funding and cost

Liberty Dogs was set up by the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation, which the couple co-founded in 2016, the Sun reported. The foundation pays for everything from wellness classes at the group's 27-acre Northern Nevada campus to supplies after graduation. A dog raised and trained by a professional service dog organization can cost more than $50,000.

From application to graduation

The process takes about 18 months, said CEO Ondra Berry, a retired Nevada Air National Guard major general. Many veterans start with a three-day Warrior Wellness class in Reno. Applicants go through a background check and a home inspection, and those accepted attend a free two-week training camp where they are paired with a dog.

Volunteer puppy raisers bring young dogs in weekly for training, and qualifying dogs then get six months of advanced skills training, the Sun reported. Graduates go home with a vest, kennel, harness, leash, collar and beds. "At the end of the day, we want to make the right impact for those who have served this great nation," Berry said.

Why it matters in Nevada

A VA report published in September found almost 6,500 veteran suicides nationwide in 2024, about 18 a day, the Sun reported. In Nevada, 108 veterans died by suicide that year, and the state's veteran suicide rate was significantly higher than national veteran and general population rates after adjusting for age.

An estimated 23% of military members and veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, have PTSD, according to the Sun. A study published in June 2024, led by Marguerite O'Haire of the University of Arizona, found that 81 participants given service dogs reported lower PTSD severity, anxiety and depression after three months compared with 75 who were waitlisted. Readers can find more veterans and community coverage, including a volunteer honored for pairing rescue dogs with veterans.

What to watch next

• Liberty Dogs is seeking volunteers across Nevada to care for puppies in training on weekends or raise them full time, with applications at libertydogs.org.
• Liberty Dogs staff will continue checking in with Earl, who can call the group if he needs help.
• When Reagan is too old to keep working, Earl's family will get first chance to adopt her and priority for the next round of placements, Earl told the Sun.