Jim Stanek, founder of Paws and Stripes in Rio Rancho, New
Mexico was the Veteran that originally inspired Paul and I a year and a half
ago. We were anxious to meet Jim and
Lindsey in person and learn more about their non-profit organization for
wounded veterans that works to provide service dogs for PTSD and TBI.
Rio Rancho and Albuquerque are at the base of the gorgeous
Sandia Mountains. We were to meet Jim
and Sarge at a park not far from their office.
We had planned on staying two days in New Mexico but unfortunately we
lost a day to weather in Florida. Thanks
to hurricane Sandy we only had time to photograph Jim's dog Sarge and Jax, our very last dog and the
service dog belonging to one of their graduates. Once again we were blessed with beautiful
weather to photograph these dogs.
Originally, Jim was an iron worker and volunteer fireman
living in Long Island, NY when 9-11 happened.
Immediately he and fellow firemen rushed to ground zero to help. Because he was under six foot, was strong,
and experienced in rescue, he was lowered deep into the rubble to look for
survivors. They worked non-stop for the
next 3 months working 22 hour days. When
rescue and later recovery ended, Jim found the closest recruiting office and
signed up.
Two weeks after finishing basics, Jim was deployed to
Iraq. he served three tours of Iraq that
ended with an injury and eventually he was medically retired. After nine months in treatment at Brook Army
Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, Jim
discovered that the most comfort and relief he found was in the presence of
therapy dogs. They started researching
service dogs for Veterans and discovered price tags of $10-$60M for programs
with breeder dogs and waiting lists up to five years.
Lindsey had adopted a dog for Jim and they
started noticing this dog was trying to alert him to anxiety attacks, blackouts
, etc. Luckily they found local trainers
to work with. They learned how to fine
tune Sarge's skills so that he could help Jim manage his symptoms. Today Jim is on one medication only and is no
longer isolated in his own home. Sarge
reminds him when he begins to tense up, his anxiety level s are down and so are
his nightmares. Because Sarge has his
back and can act as his "spotter", Jim can focus on what he needs to
do.
This amazing couple wanted to help other veterans and
started the non-profit Paws and Stripes.
Thanks to the success of this great organization, many other veterans,
like Jim, have gotten their lives back.
It is the aim of this organization to provide these dogs and training
for no cost to the veteran.
To learn
more about Paws and Stripes, go to http://www.pawsandstripes.org. If you want to understand what PTSD and TBI
are and how they affect Veterans, watch the video on their home page. It is one
of the best I have seen. In it Jim also
tells what life was like before and after Sarge - please take the time to watch
it so that you can understand what our Veterans are dealing with.
Thanks Jim!!
