makes these loyal partners extra special is who is training them. abc s jake tapper has more. reporter: irvine the golden retriever is not just man s best friend. he can open doors. yes, good boy. reporter: turn on lights. and pick up your wallet. a dollar bill. or a credit card. way to go. reporter: irvine and other dogs such as 4-month-old puppy cadence are part of a three-year training course to help wounded warriors. troops back from iraq or afghanistan with debilitating injuries. now that in itself is not new. what is new is who is training these service dogs. other wounded warriors. such as sergeant brian bradley from st. mary s, ohio, who lost his right arm in battle in afghanistan in 2010. he says it helps for the dogs to be trained by actual amputees with prosthetic limbs. to get used to them. and i can do a lot of things with this. and when i first got to the program last year, like some of the puppies were like, what is that?
they see the hook moving around and stuff. reporter: private first class corey doan lost his leg to an ied in afghanistan in july 2011. he says training these dogs has been a life line. it s going to be depressing to be sitting in a hospital bed recuperating. for sure. kind of takes like the man out of you, but it was nice to actually go out and do something again. instead of just sitting in the bed healing or doing physical therapy. reporter: bradley says the service dogs can help combat post-traumatic stress disorder. every time i put on the prosthetic that looks like my other arm, it s like an instant memory of me actually losing my arm that day. reporter: but irvine helps? oh, yeah. it s a great day when i m with him. good boy. reporter: jake tapper, abc news, at the pentagon. love that story. so often they just need something to channel their energies and their efforts and passions into. glad to see that program is working out for them.
special is who is training them. abc s jake tapper has more. reporter: irvine the golden retriever is not just man s best friend. he can open doors. yes, good boy. reporter: turn on lights. and pick up your wallet. a dollar bill. or a credit card. way to go. reporter: irvine and other dogs such as 4-month-old puppy cadence are part of a three-year training course to help wounded warriors. troops back from iraq or afghanistan with debilitating injuries. now that in itself is not new. what is new is who is training these service dogs. other wounded warriors. such as sergeant brian bradley from st. mary s, ohio, who lost his right arm in battle in afghanistan in 2010. he says it helps for the dogs to be trained by actual amputees with prosthetic limbs. to get used to them. and i can do a lot of things with this. and when i first got to the program last year, like some of the puppies were like, what is that?
they see the hook moving around and stuff. reporter: private first class corey doan lost his leg to an ied in afghanistan in july 2011. he says training these dogs has been a life line. it s going to be depressing to be sitting in a hospital bed recuperating. for sure. kind of takes like the man out of you, but it was nice to actually go out and do something again. instead of just sitting in the bed healing or doing physical therapy. reporter: bradley says the service dogs can help combat post-traumatic stress disorder. every time i put on the prosthetic that looks like my other arm, it s like an instant memory of me actually losing my arm that day. reporter: but irvine helps? oh, yeah. it s a great day when i m with him. good boy. reporter: jake tapper, abc news, at the pentagon. love that story. so often they just need something to channel their energies and their efforts and passions into. glad to see that program is working out for them.