‘This is my lifeline’: Marine’s story highlights power of service dogs
June 20, 2025
Long Island Herald
Renee DeLorenzo
Marine veteran Mike Kilano shared his harrowing journey from the battlefield to the brink of suicide — and the service dog that saved his life — during a powerful event coordinated by H. Frank Carey junior and Girl Scout Annie Gaudiosi at the Franklin Square Public Library on June 9.
Annie said she organized the event because her classmates, who often attend her library events, were requesting an animal-related program. She researched local organizations and discovered Paws of War. Drawn to the group’s mission of providing services to first responders and military veterans, she decided to reach out.
“I think this is something you really need for the community,” Annie said of the organization. “I thought it would be nice for teens and younger kids to see that even veterans — people who literally fought in wars — struggle with the same things we do.”
After a 15-minute Zoom meeting, the Paws of War team connected Annie with Kilano, a Marine Corps combat veteran who served from 1999 to 2003 and was deployed during the initial invasion of Iraq.
Kilano, 45, brought his service dog, a 4-year-old Rottweiler named Nova, to his 30-minute lecture, delivered to more than a dozen teens in the library’s meeting room. He spoke about his wartime experiences, the debilitating injuries he sustained, and the post-traumatic stress disorder he has battled since his discharge.
After suffering a traumatic brain injury in combat, losing his sense of smell from burn pit exposure, experiencing hearing loss, and developing chronic conditions such as tinnitus and widespread pain in his back, knees, hands and head, Kilano struggled immensely upon returning home.
Every time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by severe nightmares. He worked multiple jobs to stay busy and avoid dwelling on traumatic memories. Regulating emotions was a constant challenge, he said, and he often engaged in road rage and other risky behavior.
“I was really drinking, and I would go from zero to 100 very quickly,” Kilano recalled.
He also neared homelessness 10 years ago after his mother-in-law — who owned the house he, his wife, and three children lived in — told them they had 30 days to move out.
At that point, Kilano said, a colleague encouraged him to seek help through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and undergo a mental health evaluation.
“I was like, no, I don’t go to the doctor,” Kilano said. “We don’t go to doctors. We’re machines. We’re freaking Marines.”
While he now rejects that stigma, it almost stopped him from getting the help he needed. He begrudgingly went, and a mental health professional quickly recognized the severity of his condition.
Services for the UnderServed, an organization that supports individuals and families experiencing homelessness across New York City and Long Island, helped Kilano and his family find a safe place to live.
Despite this progress, his mental health continued to deteriorate, affecting his children. Now the father of five, Kilano found it difficult to stay at their sports games or other events due to anxiety and hyper-vigilance. He stopped eating, sleeping, showering — even moving — and sank into a deep depression.
“I almost killed myself,” Kilano said. “My PTSD symptoms were just so bad. I couldn’t see the light.”
That is how, Kilano said, he ended up with Paws of War and his service dog Nova more than four years ago. He said it was life-saving.
Kilano explained that the organization does not directly train the dogs. Instead, professional trainers host classes where handlers — owners like himself — are taught how to train their own dogs. Classes typically accommodate around 10 handlers at a time and run for two to three years, until the dog is fully trained and the handler is confident.
“There’s no judgment with animals,” Kilano said. “It’s a beautiful thing, because when I’m in my own head and maybe have physical cues, she sees that and senses that, and then she taps me.”
Nova’s calm demeanor not only comforts Kilano but helps him manage stressful situations. She is trained to guide him in crowds and alert him to nearby people. She also responds to commands that instruct her to cover him in compromising situations — like when he’s using an ATM and unable to focus on his surroundings.
Most importantly, Nova has given Kilano the freedom to rejoin public life.
“This is my lifeline, man,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to go to stores or anything without her.”
Paws of War, founded in 2014, operates internationally and rescues animals from war zones, kill shelters, puppy mills, abusive homes, and various other circumstances. Nova was rescued by a retired probation officer and detective, who gave her to Kilano knowing he needed a service animal.
Kilano is now a veteran resource coordinator for Paws of War, which is headquartered in Nesconset, New York, with a secondary location in New Bern, North Carolina.
Joshua Rios, a fellow H. Frank Carey junior who attended the event, said the program was informative. He hadn’t realized how much effort goes into rescuing and pairing a dog with a veteran.
According to a 2021 study by the National Institutes of Health, the process of evaluating a veteran’s mental health, getting approved for a service dog and finally being paired with one can take up to a year — or longer in some cases. The same study found that 97 percent of veterans with service dogs reported benefits to their mental health. The most frequently cited improvement was in daily life and activities.
“It’s good to know this exists because if you’re suffering from mental health issues, there’s options for you to get help,” Joshua said. “Whether it’s therapy or service dogs, they’re there to help you.”
Annie agreed and said she hopes those who attended her event walked away with a deeper awareness of neighbors who may be suffering in silence.
“I think it’s really important to bring programs like these to light,” she said. “It’s important people learn that everybody that they see, maybe on the street or in a supermarket, struggles. It helps people be more mindful.”
Although Kilano is now divorced, he said he loves being a father and is far more present in his children’s lives with Nova helping him manage his symptoms.
“This stuff doesn’t go away,” Kilano said of his traumatic memories. “However, I have a purpose with Paws of War. I have veterans that I take care of that need me, and the organization as a veteran advocate, and so I’m fighting every single day.”
