When told of the service dog program at ECAD, Greg grabbed on to it like a life raft. |
GREG was born in Poland and came to the U.S. at fourteen. When he came of age, five days after 9/11, he joined the army, determined to be a credit to his adopted country. He did three tours of Iraq, and according to his mother, the happy young man she knew before his tours, never returned. Greg was so traumatized by the gruesome and heartbreaking violence he saw on the ground in Iraq, as part of the infantry, that he was forever changed. He returned broken and unable to face the world or engage in any kind of meaningful social interaction. PTSD defined him.
In spite of treatment and medication, despairing of ever getting better, and living with unbearable guilt about his buddies who never made it home, he finally attempted suicide, which left him in a coma for nineteen days. Luckily, he survived, but his despair deepened. Nothing seemed to work and he was numbed by the amount of medication he was prescribed. When told of the service dog program at ECAD, Greg grabbed on to it like a life raft. Scared, anxious and allowing himself a sliver of hope, he went to Connecticut to meet his dog. He fell in love instantly with his new buddy and they’ve recently begun their life together in New York. Greg is still struggling, but he now has a constant companion who makes him laugh and who forces him out of the house every day for exercise. We will be following Greg on his journey of healing this year with the aid and companionship of the beautiful Golden Retriever he fittingly re-named Valor. |
The VA suggested a dog and he decided to go for it as his last hope. |
DARRYL is 46 and lives in a suburb of Atlanta with his wife Cindy and two daughters, 13 and 15. He joined the Reserves in 1989 was deployed to Iraq during Desert Storm, then to Cuba and finally Afghanistan. Although he didn’t go into battle, while overseas there, he survived 75 rocket attacks, that created an atmosphere of constant terror and jolts of adrenaline.
Back home with his family he suffers from major survivor’s guilt as well. He had a buddy in Iraq, with whom he used to have lunch every day, except for the day they had an argument. That day, his buddy didn’t show up, but wherever he went, he stepped on an IED, sustaining life-changing injuries. Darryl is haunted by that and it compromises the life he has at home. After the military, he became a State Trooper and the carnage he saw in that job was brutal too, especially children killed in car accidents. The PTSD took hold with a vice-like grip. He found himself getting nasty with everyone, the public, at work, and at home. The meds he was prescribed by the VA have killed his sex-drive and have certainly not helped his marriage. He’s lethargic, with no ambition, while hyper-vigilant at the same time. And the final straw was he was let go from the police because of the PTSD. He feels he has no purpose anymore. He’s lost a lot of friends and is tired of being passed around to different people by the VA. His life is in shambles. His daughters hardly relate to him. The VA suggested a dog and he decided to go for it as his last hope. He’s just gotten Bella and is hoping that she will make a difference and bring back at least part of the man he was before he joined the military. We will follow his progress as he goes through the process of adjusting to life with a service dog. These dogs are miracles and we’re hoping for one in Darryl’s life. |
Tom hopes that the new relationship will help him manage his rage, reduce his meds and make him more independent. |
TOM was a self described "door kicker" in the army, stationed in Iraq in 2007-2008. He was an airborne soldier, Corporal E4 and the recipient of the Combat Action Badge. Today, suffering from physical pain from injuries sustained in action and the emotional pains of PTSD, he rarely leaves home except for the twice a day walk to take his daughter to school and pick her up. He says accomplishing that daily mission is like drowning.
Taking multiple medications, Tom is a virtual shut in and to avoid his anger and panic attacks he distracts himself playing video games much of every day. He wishes with all his heart that he could be employed but knows that in his present state he is too disabled. Clearly, the total support of his wife and the deeply loving relationship with his daughter are the anchors in Tom's life and, he says, have saved him from multiple suicide attempts. Tom lights up with his daughter, and watching her natural ability to support her father with her love is utterly beautiful and will be a central theme in Tom's story. Tom will soon be receiving a service dog from K9's For Warriors and hopes that the new relationship will help him manage his rage, reduce his meds and make him more independent. Tom is 32 and lives in Billings, Montana with his wife and 7 year old daughter. |
Sylvia was matched with a black Labrador retriever named Timothy who has helped her live a fuller life. |
SYLVIA was an Army reservist, called to active duty after 9/11. She served three tours in Iraq as a journalist and public affairs specialist. She left her young son behind in California so she could serve her country, but what she didn't realize before deploying were the conditions she would face in a combat zone as a female in a fraternity of male soldiers.
She was ill prepared for the sexual harassment she experienced, the unrelenting stress from frequent rocket attacks on her duty station, and the devastating injuries and death that she witnessed. Returning home, the slightest sound made her react as if she was still in Iraq; anxiety and panic attacks were constant, and she developed a stutter for the first time in her life. Her son hardly recognized her. After her first suicide attempt, she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, and put on stupefying amounts of medications that made her feel like a zombie for 5 years. Finally, after being properly diagnosed with PTSD, she began to receive appropriate treatment and slowly emerged from her fog. During these terrible years of the wrong meds and even afterward, Sylvia was prone to suicide attempts and tried to carry it out six times. Then, her therapist suggested that a service dog could be a next step towards forging a pathway to managing life better. Sylvia was matched with a black Labrador retriever named Timothy who has helped her live a fuller life pursuing her dream of becoming a professional writer. She's currently in a MFA writing program and has written a novel and short stories about her experiences in Iraq. With Timothy's support, her relationships with her husband and son have improved greatly, and she has learned how to manage her panic attacks, quell her anxiety and feel whole again. Sylvia lives in Wisconsin with her husband, a military surgeon, and all around good guy. |
Glen's life began to change when he was paired with his service dog, Indy. |
GLEN is well aware that 22 veterans commit suicide everyday, as he was almost one of them. He's a tough guy who was raised on Long Island by a tough guy, but had never gotten into a fight before he was deployed to Iraq. He returned from the war an adrenaline junkie - riding his motorcycle drunk at 100 mph, getting into bar brawls and looking for conflict in order to feel alive. His life was ruled by adrenaline and PTSD.
Glen was a Navy Corpsman stationed with the Marines. He experienced so much trauma that he came home changed and damaged. As he says, "They spend millions to make us warriors but not near enough to teach us to return home." Despite being heavily medicated to treat his PTSD, Glen lost all his friends and was hyper-vigilant towards a constantly threatening invisible unknown. Ashamed of his explosive behavior, he rarely went out. His anxiety was off the charts, he couldn't be around people and life seemed unmanageable with no way out. Glen's life began to change when he was paired with his service dog, Indy. He found a new girlfriend, his rage began to diminish and he now rides his motorcycle "like an adult, not a suicide bomber." Instead of bottling up his feelings and hiding his PTSD, Glen now talks about them to raise awareness about veteran suicide prevention and holds benefits to raise money for service dogs. Glen is 36 years old and lives in Port Jefferson, Long Island. |
When Phil has a nightmare, Champ licks his arms to wake him up and cuddle. |
PHIL joined the army to "make a difference and to have a voice." While deployed, he was badly injured in a horrific helicopter accident that ended up costing him a leg. Upon his return he was diagnosed with PTSD and the symptoms led to his divorce. Feeling as though he was losing the battle with PTSD, he attempted suicide and need up in a psych ward.
After being thrown out of the Wounded Warrior program in Florida for smoking pot, a friend suggested he get a service dog. Phil was paired with his dog Reese, who helped relieve his anxiety and made him feel safe and secure both in public and at home . Reese even brought Phil's prosthetic leg to the side of the bed every morning. When Reese died of cancer at age 8, things took a turn for the worse for Phil. After 8 months, he finally decided to get another service dog, Champagne, aka Champ. Though he still has dark days when he doesn't leave the house, he once again has a battle buddy. When Phil has a nightmare, Champ licks his arms to wake him up and cuddle. Phil says, "I melt into her and just love her and slowly get started with my day. No matter how ugly I feel in the morning, she softens it." Phil is 41 and lives in upstate New York. |
As the bond between this Marine and his dog gets deeper, he no longer feels the need to avoid the world. |
BRANDON and his wife, Latisha, are ex Marines, the source of their greatest pride. Brandon sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Iraq that gives him debilitating migraines and he also has PTSD, a result of the things he had to do and see while serving.
Brandon had been pretty much a shut-in, suffering the migraines, panic attacks and hyper vigilance. When he heard about a nearby dog training facility, paws4vets, he wasn’t particularly hopeful, but decided to give it a try. And then he met BOOTHE, a black Labrador, trained, as all the dogs are from this organization, by an inmate in a West Virginia prison. Brandon is a shy man and doesn’t like speaking in front of people, but all the inmates and vets getting their dogs had to speak about themselves, so he realized it was time for a change and stepped up to the mike, revealing his past to Latisha, for the first time. He wanted to be a better man, a better husband and a full participant in his post-military life. Brandon says that his dog has made him more open, more connected to the world. He feels he’s been given a voice to share his story and help other vets. He was a leader in the Marines and now wants to be a leader in his life. BOOTHE doesn’t judge. He’s just there for Brandon – all the time. Before BOOTHE, Brandon was hyper vigilant, as so many vets with PTSD are, and he would clear every inch of his location looking for threats. Now, he can leave that to BOOTHE and his anxiety levels, as well as the severity of his migraines, have diminished. He can work, go to the gym, go out to a restaurant with his wife, all things that were enormous hurdles for Brandon. As the bond between this Marine and his dog gets deeper, he no longer feels the need to avoid the world. With BOOTHE by his side 24-7, Brandon is engaging more, finding deeper connection with his family and things are looking up. |
Tisha started a six-week program with therapy dogs and, despite an improvement in her situation, her doctors still weren’t supportive. |
TISHA joined the Marines at 17 to get out of a crippling family situation and because she wanted to be of service. Boot camp was a breeze for her because she was very athletic and used to a lot of yelling at home. Taking orders was fine with her as she trusted her superiors and wanted to do a stellar job. That’s the kind of person she was then and still is now. Tisha deployed three times to Afghanistan, though working in intelligence she never saw combat. But something happened that changed her forever and she came home a different person.
Tisha was diagnosed with PTSD even before she left the Marines. She suffered from many of the symptoms we’ve come to know like panic attacks, rages, nightmares, flashbacks and constant anxiety. She went through multiple rounds of therapy and medication, but she still suffered. She became a shut-in, imploding, diving deeper and deeper into a black hole of depression and self-recrimination. She heard something about service dogs, mentioned it to her doctors and they weren’t particularly enthusiastic. But she started a six-week program with therapy dogs and, despite an improvement in her situation, her doctors still weren’t supportive. But she persevered and got her service German Shepherd, Cuse. She was able to reduce her medications as she and Cuse got to know each other. Today, Tisha feels safe when she’s with her dog, which is all the time. She calms her down when she begins to panic. She helps Tisha understand there’s not a threat even though she feels there is and she brings her back into reality when she’s having a horrific flashback of what happened to her. She feels her dog saves her every day. Would she go back and be a Marine again, knowing what she knows, and given the same outcome? 100%. She’s more proud of her service than anything in her life, and has learned how to advocate for herself in ways she never expected. |
Walter wasn’t sure how a dog could help him but after training each month he started to see what JACKSON could do for him. |
WALTER is a Vietnam Veteran and was drafted in the Army in 1966. He was in Saigon during the Tet Offensive and later wounded in Da Nang. He was with the 74th Supply Unit at the 506 Field Depot.
Being in a combat setting for months on end and fearing for his life, he and his unit were under fire where his best friend was shot and died in Walter’s arms. This caused survivors guilt because in Walter’s eyes his friend had a new family and Walter didn’t have anyone. After fourteen months of combat, Walter came home to a country that made him feel ashamed of serving his country. When he arrived at the bus station, he walked home in his uniform and someone threw a bottle from a car and yelled baby killer. He needed seven stitches in his leg from that incident. Returning from Vietnam, suffering with nightmares and flashbacks, Walter begged the VA for help and they denied him, stating that his issues were from his childhood. In 2009 he went back to the VA with the support of a fellow Viet Nam veteran, and he was finally diagnosed with PTSD. Over the years, Walter never talked about the war and he mastered being able to bury his feelings deep down inside but after suffering a long illness he wasn’t able to contain those feelings anymore. Walter was suffering so much with his PTSD that he was unable to function. He withdrew from his family and stayed in his home where he felt safe. The flashbacks and nightmares were consuming him. Finally, in 2013, desperate for help, Walter’s wife Susan found paws4people foundation, a service dog organization. She saw through their paws4vets program they were helping veterans regain their lives again. Walter was paired with a two year old Golden Retriever named JACKSON. He wasn’t sure how a dog could help him but after training each month he started to see what JACKSON could do for him. Walter was taught to “go to” and “pet” his dog when he was triggered and to tell him 10 happy things in his life. Doing that he was able to stay in the present and by just petting his dog it would bring his anxiety down where he could function again. Walter and JACKSON have been a successful working team since 2014 and Walter has found his voice again. He is now a peer mentor through paws4vets, helping new clients. He and his wife travel around their home state educating people about service dogs. In Walter’s words, he is living again with the help of JACKSON. |
Tammie was matched with her service dog, Cross, through K9s 4 Warriors in an effort to finally confront the aftereffects of her U.S. Army service in Afghanistan. |
TAMMIE Kai Gillums, a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and was honorably discharged. Even though having her own disabilities, what she learned in service had conditioned her both mentally and physically for the rigors of a new challenges as she now provides daily care for her husband, Sherman.
Sherman served in the U.S. Marines until he became paralyzed following a vehicle rollover. Tammie and her husband are also raising five children — a 5-year old son and four daughters. The dedication doesn’t stop there. Tammie is has volunteered her time to initiate The American Legion’s first caregiver program and at Paralyzed Veterans of America as a caregiver consultant. Through her work as a former Elizabeth Dole fellow, Tammie remains engaged with a number of nonprofits, as well as local and federal government agencies on behalf of military caregivers and disabled veterans. She was matched with her service dog, Cross, through K9s 4 Warriors in an effort to finally confront the aftereffects of her U.S. Army service in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2008. |
Onagh had her beloved dog Loki trained and certified as a Service Dog and they have been together 24-7 ever since. |
ONAGH Hopke was born and raised in the Los Angeles Beaches of California. Onagh joined the US Air Force in 1987 and assigned Tactical Aircraft Maintenance Technician, or Crew Chief to the F-16 C/D Combat Jet.
Onagh is a decorated United States Air Force Veteran, a retired Information Technology professional, a blogger and an Author. Her first writings were self-published at the dawn of the public Internet in 1994. The very first blog, Endometriosis & Me, was first published and maintained on the Internet in 1998 and remains active today. Onagh has suffered Stage 4 Aggressive Endometriosis, Military Personal Trauma and the long-term treatment side effects. She also suffers from PTSD as a result of impact from her experiences in the military as well as her long-term medical treatments. She had her beloved dog Loki trained and certified as a Service Dog and they have been together 24-7 ever since. |