GORHAM — Five veterans and their new service dogs will graduate from the newly formed K9s on The Front Line at noon Thursday, Jan. 7.

It will be the first class to graduate from the collaboration among Coastal Humane Society, Embrace A Vet, and North Edge K9. Training has been held at 50 Dunton Lane in Gorham for the past 16 weeks.

Christian Stickney, a 20-plus-year police officer and K9 trainer with the Portland Police Department, and Hagen Blaszyk, director of anatomic pathology for Spectrum Medical Group, formed North Edge K9 three years ago.

In 2014, North Edge K9 was given a contract to train five service dogs for veterans in North Carolina. The profound experience made the pair look for ways to continue as they realized the immense need in their community.

The two men found Embrace A Vet and Coastal Humane Society were already doing a similar program, so together with North Edge K9, K9s on The Front Line was born.

The project pairs traumatic brain injury/post traumatic stress disorder combat veterans with a shelter dog from Coastal Humane Society. The dog and the veteran undergo a 16-week course at North Edge K9’s facility in Gorham.

The results are the veteran receives a fully trained service dog, lifelong companion and at no cost to the veteran. The program is funded through donations to Embrace A Vet, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to serving Maine veterans.

Data is collected to measure the short- and long-term medical benefits of the therapy provided by the service dog. Some tasks the dogs train for are to recognize and diffuse anger by engaging their handlers, or detecting waves of sadness and interrupting with a hug.

They can wake their handlers from nightmares, intercept flashbacks, cover their front and back in public, and act as a buffer for socializing with the general public. The dogs require daily routines which force handlers to care for them.

On Sept. 9, 2001, Sam Raymond, an Air Force veteran from West Gardiner, arrived in Saudi Arabia for a routine air watch mission. Two days later, the events of 9/11 claimed more than 3,000 American lives and Sam’s unit was immediately diverted to Iraq.

As a result, the husband and father of two who now lives in South Portland, was later diagnosed with PTSD. On Thursday, he and his service dog, Gracie, will graduate from K9s on The Front Line. At 11 months and 115 pounds, Gracie climbs up into her handler’s lap, puts two massive paws on his shoulders and offers him countless sloppy kisses.

Stickney recalls the first day of class: “It was a lot like the first day of school — everyone was quiet, sort of feeling out the rest of the group. To see everyone now joking around, throwing jabs at each other . . . It’s been a great experience to be a part of.”

The group stresses they are not just training dogs, but forming a community. Each veteran who completes the program is encouraged to keep in touch, visit and attend future classes.

“This doesn’t end in 16 weeks,” Stickney said.

For more information go online to K9sOnTheFrontLine.com.

For donations, volunteering, helping with fundraisers, or nominating someone for the program, contact Hagen Blaszyk at [email protected] or Linda Murray at 207-272-0954.