A former Special Forces dog handler, Travis had his dog Bear by his side for four trips to Iraq. When Travis left the military, he realized he wasn’t going to be able to bring Bear with him.

After the two separated, Bear wouldn’t eat. He wouldn’t work for anyone else and he was biting everyone.

Travis and Bear had some rough trips together where he and the dog both witnessed conbat and explosions. It was clear Bear was suffering from PTSD himself, which was triggered when Travis left.

Ultimately, Travis was permitted to adopt Bear, which became a life-changing event for both of them. Bear and another rescue had a litter of puppies and all but one were given away to Special Forces members – except for one puppy that Travis would keep because she was difficult. Travis says she hated his guts for some reason. Until he took her on a trip, which opened Travis’ eyes to what she was missing. Now Barin is Travis’ right hand, going everywhere with him.

A few years back a former Teammate contacted Travis about a mutual retired military friend who was suffering from PTSD. Travis had found several rescue dogs that he had rehabbed, trained and donated to people who needed them. Travis gave Misha, also a descendent of Bear, to the mutual friend who is now doing great.

This became the inspiration for Second Chance K9. Travis had seen success with connecting rehabbed Rescue dogs with Special Operation Forces (SOF) in need. He realized in order to continue to make these life-saving connections, he’d need to make it official by becoming a non-profit entity that would have the ability to fundraise and help more people than he was able to do alone.  

Second Chance K9 focuses solely on connecting high-drive Rescues trained to be ADA-recognized Service Dogs with SOF of all branches of the Military suffering from PTSD/TBI.