He had no idea then that his best friend and constant companion would one day be a dog named Archie.

“I injured my back pretty seriously,” Rankin said. “I was always falling. It was from muscle spasms so bad it would press on a disc and that would hit a nerve in the spine and put me down on the ground.”

After his release from active duty with the 220th Military Police Company, an element of the Colorado National Guard, Rankin said he often fell and couldn’t get up.

“One time I fell in my driveway,” Rankin said. “I lay there for a long time before crawling into the house. My wife wasn’t there.”

In November 2006, Archie, a European black Labrador retriever, made his way into Rankin’s life through Patriot Paws Service Dogs. The non-profit organization in Rockwall is run by Lori Stevens, who for 15 years has worked as a trainer and consultant for service dogs.

Ms. Stevens said she works with K9 instructors and volunteers to give back to disabled veterans the freedom to live independently again. She said the cost to train a service dog is $20,000. It takes 18 months.

Once trained, the dogs assist with daily tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible.

Rankin said if he falls now Archie helps him get back up by using his shoulders and back as a brace to hold onto.

“He’s stouter than the American Lab and has a shorter nose, which means he has a tougher bite if he has to grab something and hang onto it for me.”

Rankin said Archie brings his shoes and socks, opens doors and cabinets for him, loads a laundry basket and when they are shopping, picks things up off the lower shelves.

Rankin also suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“I have flashbacks and nightmares,” Rankin said. “Archie picks up on it. He was not trained for this. He’s intuitive. He will actually pull me out of it by putting his head in my lap or punching my hand with his nose. It brings me back to reality from where I’ve been drifting.”

Rankin said the rapport goes much deeper than a normal dog-person relationship.

“We are together 24/7. He is truly my best friend.”

Rankin said when it’s time to go to work Archie assumes a working persona. He flies on airlines with Rankin and goes into every store and restaurant with him.

“It’s more like a family member,” he said.

Ms. Stevens said she began a partnership with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2007 to train offenders in the prison system to train the dogs.

A pilot program was launched last November at both the Layne Murray Unit at Gatesville and the Gatesville Women’s Correctional Unit. Six pups were delivered to the units in February.

Warden Lorie Wills at the Layne Murray Unit said a tough screening process selected 12 offenders out of the nearly 1,300 incarcerated there.

“We picked the best of the best,” she said. “Offenders had to have a clear disciplinary record and not have been convicted of crimes that involved injury to children, the elderly or animals.”

Dawna Adams, 42, is training a 4½-month-old yellow Lab named Layne Murray.

Ms. Adams said she was convicted and sentenced for making one, big horrible mistake. She has since served two years on a 10-year sentence.

“I stole money that wasn’t mine, and it was wrong,” she said. “I did the crime. The only thing I can do is to come out of here and try to be better and learn to live straight.”

She said the dogs have blessed her life and changed her perspective on her incarceration.

“We have 10 women and six dogs and none of us knew each other before,” Ms. Adams said. “We all have different backgrounds. We are all in here because we did something we weren’t supposed to do. That is about the only thing in common we’ve got.”

She said they live together basically 24/7. And they have had to learn to work as a team, to cooperate, to help each other out.

“In prison you don’t do that,” she said. “In prison you are taught to stay to yourself. Normally, you don’t mingle and you don’t do things because it’s not always healthy. So to actually be put in an environment where now the warden talks to us, the officers talk to us, we talk to each other - at first it was a little strange.”

She said Warden Wills has inspired them.

“To be believed in again, to have somebody see value in me helps me for when I get out of here,” she said.

Ms. Adams said she knows in about 18 months, when the dogs are fully trained, it will be time for them to go.

“You can’t help but get attached to them,” she said. “But I don’t think there is going to be anything more incredible than to see these dogs graduate and go to a veteran whose life they will change. Not only did this dog change my life, she will go on to change a veteran’s life. You can’t get any better than that.”

Denise Doty, 36, said she has undergone a similar awakening.

She has served five years of a 15-year sentence for intoxication manslaughter. It will be 2½ years before she can seek parole.

By training service dogs for disabled veterans, she said, she is giving back to those who gave to her.

The former secretary and substitute school teacher said her daughters, 18 and 20, a son, 9, and her fiancé of 10 years have stood by her during her time in prison.

“My family has been affected by my negligence and it’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life,” Ms. Doty said. “Every day I’m growing and learning and I have to forgive myself. If I don’t forgive myself - if I hold onto the shame and guilt - I’m never going to be able to have a happy life.

“Hopefully, I will make parole,” she said. “But if I don’t I plan on doing this until I do go home. It’s something I can take with me.”

She said the hardest thing is knowing the dogs will leave when trained. But knowing the dog is going off to help someone else will make it worthwhile.

“He’ll be gone from here in 18 months. He’ll make parole before I do,” she said, breaking into laughter and flashing a big smile.

Warden Wills said the most evident change in the women is they have gained a sense of purpose and pride.

“For some it is the first thing they have done in their lives for somebody else,” Warden Wills said. “But for all there’s a reason to get up in the morning and be engaged. I believe they get what they are doing and are focused on that long-term goal.”

For information on Patriot Paws Service Dogs go to www.patriotpawsservicedogs.org.