Jake and K9 Diesel

Hi, my name is Jake Marin. I graduated from Delano High School in 1995, then attended Dunwoody Institute for Auto Body, where I graduated first in my class. I got a job right out of school at a local body shop fixing and restoring high-end cars. A few years later, I got a piece of land and built my own house. It was a very good learning experience as I pounded every nail and poured all of the concrete myself.
Then I met Becky, my girlfriend, who has 2 great kids.
I joined the local fire department, where I served the community I live in for 12 years. I enjoyed it so much that I changed jobs and moved to be closer to the fire
department so I could respond to the day calls.
About 9 years later, I became a Lieutenant, and this is when my PTSD journey started. My drinking increased, and I started a pain pill habit to try to control the craziness of my life at the time. It didn’t work very well, and it landed me in a live-in rehab center for 30 days. After returning home, the fire department had me take a “Fit for Duty” test to make sure I was capable of resuming my duties, and I
failed. They fired me.
Looking back, that was the best thing that could have
happened at that time because I needed to remove that stress from my life, which I later learned was the cause of my PTSD.
I have been in therapy for the past 3 years, Becky and I got married, and I have a new job working as a forklift mechanic. I was diagnosed with PTSD shortly after getting sober, and my therapist suggested getting my dog trained as a service dog. I am excited to work with Soldiers 6 and my Black Lab, Diesel.