Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Deeside veteran suffering from PTSD finds comfort in pet companion

A guide dog
A guide dog

A Deeside veteran who has suffered with post traumatic stress and loneliness has rediscovered his pride after taking in a dog with famous military connections.

Thomas Masters struggled for almost a decade to adapt to civilian life after he was discharged from the Army on medical grounds.

The 44-year-old had served in Germany and Cyprus but suffered a knee injury in 1997 by a horse kick during ceremonial duties in London.

Mr Masters, who lives in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, said he turned to alcohol and lost jobs before he was diagnosed with PTSD.

But as he continues to volunteer with charities to help others recover he has taken ownership of specially trained springer spaniel Antis from charity Bravehound.

Named after the dog which flew with RAF pilot Robert Bozdech during the Second World War and inspired the book War Dog, Antis joined Mr Masters at a Bravehound event in Glasgow yesterday.

Mr Masters said: “I had been part of a brotherhood in the Army where there was strong loyalty and trust and I came back out into society where everyone was going at 100mph.

“I struggled to fit in and couldn’t understand why so I would go to the pub and get drunk.

“It took until I had a breakdown in 2004 before I got in touch with Combat Stress and went through treatment programmes and that got me involved with other charities and eventually Bravehound.”

Mr Masters said he was delighted to be caring for Antis.

He said: “It has given me that sense of pride back that I lost when I left the Army. I have something to be proud of and that little man is going to have the best life you could imagine.”

The original Antis was awarded the Dickin Medal, dubbed the animal Victoria Cross, at the end of the Second World War.

The dog, which was found abandoned in no man’s land became the squadron mascot for Bomber Command and flew with Czech pilot Bozdech on a number of RAF missions.

Mr Bozdech’s daughters only found about Antis through reading after their father died and they travelled from England to meet Mr Masters and his new dog.

Nina Buckley said: “A dog can be so giving and this Antis is so full of energy and loyal that it looks like the beginning of another wonderful friendship.”