Lilly Kersh
The Dallas Morning News
(TNS)
Billy Connel says he wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for his dog, Peyton.
Connel served in the military for two decades, including in the first Gulf War, and sustained injuries to his nerves and muscles from chemical weapons. He relies on his service dog daily.
“There’s days I can’t get out of bed,” Connel said.
Connel sometimes needs a cane, scooter or walker to get around and experiences post-traumatic stress. Peyton helps him open doors, turn lights on, get him water or pick up items off the ground when he can’t bend over. Peyton can even wake him up out of a bad dream.
Connel is one of hundreds of veterans who have received a dog through Patriot Paws, a Rockwall-based nonprofit that trains and provides service dogs at no cost to veterans with physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.
The dogs provide much more than physical help, organization founder Lori Stevens said.
“They break some barrier that we can’t see and change [veterans] lives,” said Stevens, who retired after nearly 20 years as CEO in October. “These veterans are looking for something that doesn’t come in a prescription bottle.”
Dogs can help alleviate the mental and emotional trauma many veterans experience. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, veterans die by suicide at a higher rate than non-veterans. In 2020, the suicide rate among veterans in the U.S., adjusted by age and sex, was 57.3% higher than the rate among non-veteran adults.
Veterans with service dogs speak to the purpose and companionship their dog has given them, in addition to the help with mobility. Before Peyton, Connel said he struggled to find hope. He calls the service dogs “lifesavers.”
“I was in a dark place, mentally, spiritually,” Connel said. “I didn’t care if I was on this earth or not … I wouldn’t be here on this earth without Peyton. He makes me want to live and makes me want to keep on going.”
Man’s best friend
Quarterly, Patriot Paws hosts a graduation ceremony in Rockwall to celebrate a new group of veterans matching with and receiving their service dogs. Each ceremony sees four to six veterans receive a dog. The organization has paired more than 600 dogs with veterans in 47 U.S. states, whether for service in public or help at home, Stevens said.
On Oct. 18, four veterans and their new service dogs graduated in a ceremony in Rockwall after completing the application, training and matching process. An audience of around 30 program alumni, dog trainers, volunteers, community leaders, sponsors, friends, family and service dogs gathered to support the graduating veterans.
Each veteran came forward, joined by their new companion. When Miles, the dog of U.S. Army veteran Brandon Smith, bounded down the aisle and began licking his owner’s face, audience members wiped away tears.
Marine Corps veteran Harry Goad received his second Patriot Paws dog, Skipper, at the ceremony. Goad, 75, lives in Rockport and joined the Marines in 1968.
“I spent 12 months and 26 days in Vietnam,” Goad said. “I carried a machine gun all that time and saw a lot of combat, lost a lot of buddies … I think about those guys a lot. The bright spots in my life were getting my first dog.”
Goad’s first service dog died from cancer two and a half years ago.
“It took a while to recover from that,” Goad said. “Then they got a hold of me and asked me if I wanted the second dog. [They] don’t let any veteran go without a second dog if they lose their first dog.”
Goad was a single dad and said his service dog kept him company and gave him a companion.
“I’m the only male in the Chi Omega Mother’s Day photo at Oklahoma University,” Goad said. “I’ve had a really good life, but it got a lot better when I was offered a dog.”
He said he could not have afforded a service dog, which can cost more than $30,000 to train, on his own.
A long process, a life-long bond
The time a veteran applies to get a service dog through the organization to the graduation ceremony is a years-long process, said Lib Anderson, a veteran coordinator for Patriot Paws.
The dogs start the process in their first few months of life, at six to eight weeks old. Deanna Hafley, a Patriot Paws dog trainer in College Station, said the dogs rotate to different trainers, learning different queues and getting socialized. Their training exposes them to as many things as possible, which can take 18 months or as long as three years.
“The dog tells us when they’re ready,” Hafley said.
Dogs are trained by a mix of professional trainers, student volunteers at Texas A&M University and inmates at four Texas prison units through a partnership with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The partnership has transformed the lives of the inmates who apply to train a dog, Hafley said.
“A lot of these offenders, they’ve taken from society, but they want to give back,” Hafley said. “A lot of them will say that they found the calling or their purpose, and that’s a big thing to say, that you found your calling while you were serving time.”
Veterans in the program go through an application process before receiving a dog. A committee determines if they would benefit from the program. If selected, they spend two weeks before the graduation ceremony matching with and training their dog.
In the first week, the dogs and veterans are paired. A group of four to six veterans interact with twice as many dogs, and trainers observe which dog works well with which veteran.
“We let our dogs pick their veterans,” Hafley said.
Sometimes, the connection is immediate.
Service dog Betty White matched almost immediately with U.S. Army veteran Armando Alonzo ahead of the October graduation, Hafley said. The first day they met, Betty White didn’t want to work with anyone other than Alonzo.
In the second week, the paired dogs and veterans learn more than 65 specialized cues and behaviors. They go to Buc-ee’s, Bass Pro Shops and Target and learn how to interact with each other and the world.
After the graduation ceremony, the dog and veteran go home together. Stevens said she’s amazed at the difference the dogs can make in the lives of veterans. They’ve saved lives, getting the phone to call 911 in medical emergencies or finding their veteran help after a fall.
Kennith Harvey, from Virginia, attended the October graduation with his dog Sebert as a Patriot Paws alum. He served nearly 30 years in the military and broke his neck twice, once from jumping from an aircraft. He suffered traumatic brain injury and went through three and a half years of medical treatment.
“By the time that I came through [Patriot Paws] training, I was a hot mess,” Harvey said. “I was so broken. I felt like I didn’t even deserve what I was getting.”
Harvey received Sebert in 2019, the same year as Connel. Harvey said his dog is always ready to break his fall, help during a medical emergency or pick up his dropped wallet.
Harvey said he’s felt better ever since Sebert came into his life.
“You’re thinking the worst of yourself and thinking that no one really cares,” Harvey said. “Your mind plays tricks on you, and the dog seems to know when that’s going on. He comes up to just get real friendly and wants to lick on you … they make you feel complete.”
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