'She Saved Me': Vet says service dog helped him overcome suicidal thoughts

(FOX News) -- A Marine veteran credits his service dog with helping him overcome his suicidal thoughts, depression and anger issues.

John Welch, who served in the Marines in the 1980s, told Today that he met his service dog, Onyx, in April, and she totally changed his life.

"I was an angry guy," Welch said. "If you cut me off in your car, I was going to your house. But now I stay in the right lane. I'm like Mr. Magoo."

Welch, who attempted suicide on four separate occasions, noted that roughly 20 veterans die by suicide every day, figures he said are heartbreaking.

"They're wounds of war that are far removed from the war," Welch said of suicides among veterans. "It's like a bullet that finally found its mark... but it's self-inflicted."

He said that he hopes his story shows other vets going through tough times that there is hope.

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