He’s no regular Joe.

He’s a dog.

Pet him. Whistle for him. But when you do, have some respect.

Call him “Commander Joe”. Not only for the reason that it is his name, but because this Joe saves military veterans’ lives — literally. He has, get this, the uncanny ability to draw vets out of their mental morass and talk about their issues, so they can heal. According to the United States Navy, to date, Commander Joe has “identified 47 people showing signs of emotional distress. Of those, seven people admitted to having a suicide plan and mental health workers are actively engaging 33 of the others.”

How is he able to do this? Well, as a matter of fact, Cmdr. Joe is the only stress-sniffing dog in the entire Department of Defense.

More from the Navy:

Studies conducted by the University of Denver in Colorado have found that regardless of the type of skill they possess, the presence of therapy dogs reduce overall narcotic and painkiller usage among veterans.

See the guy do his thing in action: