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With the US honoring the men and women who have served our country this past Veteran’s Day weekend, Channing Tatum had a hand in honoring the military’s often unsung heroes – dogs.

The 37-year-old actor, dancer and substitute talk show host served as executive producer for the HBO documentary, War Dog: A Solder’s Best Friend, which made its debut on the network’s streaming services on Saturday and airs tonight at 10pm ET. The 70-minute doc tells the tale of three special operations K9s and their human counterparts.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Channing, who never served, said, “I wasn’t sure going into this how I would come out of it.” He acknowledged that working on the film gave him perspective on the role of these brave animals. He ended up with a better understanding of the bond between the dogs and their soldiers and of how the dogs become family. Channing said, “People think of soldiers as these machines that go into war and kill the bad guys. Through these conflicts that have gone on for years, we have gone a little deeper into soldiers’ minds and hearts.”

He went on to add, “They’ve been so vulnerable in such a way with their dogs that they haven’t been able to have with humans. I don’t think people associate that with soldiers. You really get to see these guys and their softness.” Where many Hollywood films have documented the relationship between soldiers on the front, not a lot of people are aware of the strong bond established by the canine and human fighters, a relationship Channing says is “deeper than we will ever be able to know.”

In preparation for the film, Channing went out and spent time with active duty military canine units, where he noted that “These animals are very pure,” while acknowledging their fighting prowess, stating, “They’re unbelievably intense.” Of the doc, he said, “It’s deep. It’s going to get you, even if you’re not a dog person.”

I am a dog person, and, as much as I want to honor these veterans (human and canine), I don’t think I can watch this. I lost my beloved German Shepherd back in April and it still hurts. Heck, I could barely make it through the trailer. It is a great tribute to these dedicated veterans. I’m glad Channing lent his name to this project as it will probably encourage more people to listen to these moving stories.

Had the pleasure of debuting War Dog: A Soldier’s Best Friend last night in LA. Honored to help tell this story. #WarDogDoc – Monday on @HBO pic.twitter.com/oWpI2viK8J

— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) November 7, 2017

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Photos: Getty Images, WENN.com