Soldiers battling in a war zone. Bombs blasting. Children dying. This video opens with a truly nightmarish scene, but for the millions of soldiers around the world, this is their reality. Many of them return home to feel lost and hopeless, as if they have no purpose in life anymore. In the end, the video cuts to a vet being suddenly awoken by his four-legged companion. It’s the ending that makes the video so incredible.
The ad, brought to us by the Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation, was created to spread awareness about service dogs and their ability to help military veterans cope with PTSD and war-related trauma. Countless soldiers arrive home from deployment only to suffer another kind of battle. We lose too many soldiers to PTSD and its crippling effects, including reoccurring flashbacks, severe emotional distress, recurrent nightmares, and a general feeling of numbness. It is a terrifying experience for these veterans to go through and we need more resources here at home to help them recover.
The commercial may be a quick-moving 35 seconds long, but it’s enough to pack a powerful punch. So powerful, in fact, that it was crowned the winner of the Gouden Loeki 2014 award, naming it the best Dutch commercial of the year.
Let us know what you think about this video in the comments. We’d love to hear from you! Please share this powerful clip on Pinterest to help spread awareness about PTSD and help these veterans get the help they need to recover after returning home.
