Where did you serve and what did you do?
Served in Kosovo and Iraq. I was a US Army Military Police Officer. In Kosovo I was on a team that worked to decrease human and munition trafficking as well as keep peace and stability in the region. In Iraq, I was assigned to help restore the Iraqi Police Forces in Baghdad and help decrease the effect of insurgents in the area.
Tell us how your dog is helping you continue #StillServing in your community.
I have a PTSD Service Dog – In Training named Rotary (Roty) and he helps me be able to live as normal a life as I can. I work in the utility construction field and he helps me stay present and do my job well and safely. While we are yet to be fully certified as a team, hopefully that will happen in January 2021 as we work and train together.
Why do you do it?
I chose to be partnered with a PSD because not all of our scares are visible and being vulnerable enough to ask for help and receive it can help other veterans that are having problems asking for help. Living with a service dog, while it helps me personally, is also difficult sometimes because of the questions, looks etc. But having that fellow vet that comes up and asks about Roty and walks away thinking that he or she would benefit from such a partnership makes it worth it. It also allows me to share a a place to go to for that support because Roty’s service dog jacket wears the emblem of Clear Path for Veterans. Clear Path is the organization that is supporting me through the process, so its easy to show other Veterans a resource that is welcoming and very beneficial to them even if they do not need a service dog as there are many ways they support Veterans. So while ultimately, the service dog is for me, he allows me to speak to other Veterans about him and the resources that are available to them as well.