After our first 2011 miles, we are in Charlotte and I'm going to try really hard tonight to catch you all up on the last couple days. Here is our blog from Sunday, October 21:
Sunday, October 2lst we were in Louisville, Kentucky. It is was a really beautiful morning- clear blue skies and 70. We met up with our first two veterans and their dogs- Chris and service dog, Niko along with Alex and his service dog Skip. Both of these Veterans went through K9s For Warriors for their service dogs. This organization was founded by PGA golfer Bob DuVal and his wife Shari. We'll tell you much more later about this great group-here's the link if you want to know more now http://www.k9sforwarriors.org/
We asked Chris to pick a good site for the photo session and he chose
the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. We soon understood why he chose this
location. It was just beautiful with huge oak trees throughout and at
their peak of color. The grounds are all surrounded by an old stone
wall. Alex was the first to arrive with his dog Skip. We couldn't help
but notice right away the great relationship between these two.
Alex is 27 years old and joined the army at age 17. He also was in ROTC
during his high school years. He served 2 tours in Iraq as an MP during his 6
years of service. As Paul was photographing Skip, I asked Alex to tell me about
the difference Skip has made in his life. After his discharge from the service
he found he couldn't leave the house for five months and often thought about
suicide. He was on eight different medications but nothing helped until he met
Skip.
Alex told me that after they first met and completed their first day together of training at K9s For Warrior, they went to sleep. During that first night he woke up with Skip barking in his face and
thought "what the heck is this dog doing?" He then realized he
was drenched with sweat - Skip had just woke him up from a nightmare. From
that moment on he knew Skip was the right dog for him. He said Skip helped
integrate him back into society and the most important thing was that Skip
"taught him how to love again".
Soon Alex will be leaving on a promotional tour all over the country with a group that is raising funds and awareness for service dogs for Veterans. Here is a picture taken for that tour. Skip, by the way is probably one of the cutest dogs I have ever seen. I asked him about Skip's rescue story and he said that he was just left at a gas station in Florida. After being rescued, he was screened to become a service dog and his training started at K9s For Warriors.
Soon Chris joined us all with his gorgeous German Shepherd, Niko.
Chris, age 36 was also an MP and served for 10 years with 2 tours in
Iraq. Until he received Niko, he had been housebound for one year and was on 16
different medications. I asked him also to tell me how Niko has helped
him and he said that the very best thing was being able to reclaim his
independence. Today he is on five medications instead of sixteen. He added that
only one of those medications now is for mood.
Paul and I want to thank Chris and Alex for the time they gave us
Sunday morning- it was just wonderful finally talking to them in person. We were so
impressed with these young men and it was such an honor to meet them. These are
our first two veterans on this journey and it is absolutely amazing to hear the
difference these dogs are making in the lives our Veterans. What a beginning!
Well, it's on to Memphis to meet our next Veteran, Melissa and her
Golden Retriever, Chauncey.
Lynn
