By Curt Hendel
Veteran Writer
Argonne Post 32 in Adrian Mn is proud to announce sponsorship in the Service Dogs for Veterans, an Associate Sponsorship Program of the Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project.
This year our annual Dawg Days of Summer raised more than enough to cover the $1000 minimum donation required to become an Associate Sponsor. We are actually the first organization to enter into this program, which was just recently launched. As an Associate Sponsor we will be introduced to one the of the Service Dog teams currently in training. We will also be given quarterly updates and access to information on the program itself.
The veteran Argonne Post 32 is helping sponsor is Steve Brown, who served in the United States Army from 2003 till 2011. He was deployed to Iraq from October 2005 until August 2007 where he was a Long Range Surveillance Scout with the Airborne Infantry. He completed 72 combat missions of various types from search and destroy, surveillance of priority targets, route clearance and convoy security. It was during this time that he suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and he also has severe PTSD.
Steve has been teamed up with Toby, a German Shorthair Pointer from Maahs Hunt Farm in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is from a line of champions and is a tremendous young Service Dog in training. Toby began as a service dog with a Marine from Alabama but was reassigned due to a change of career for his veteran that just did not work for Toby. Now as he settles in with Steve, he is finding life in his new environment to be much more enjoyable and fitting for his personality.
The team will continue to be trained by Scent Imprint for Dogs out of Georgia, a tremendous company that is investing in these veterans with extra time and effort. They even use Skyp and other Internet tools in their interaction with the teams they are training.
After learning of the Argonne Post 32’s donation to Service Dogs of America, Steve Brown sent a note to the Post and all of those that were involved in Dawg Days as helpers and sponsors:
“My name is Steve, I would like to extend a huge thanks to the generous sponsors who support the Service Dogs for Veterans from Rocky Mountain Dawg Project. If we didn’t have caring people like you the Rocky Mountain Dawg Project would not be able to provide service dogs to veterans. My service dog (Toby) has been an absolute blessing. Dogs have this unexplainable “healing power” for veterans; men and women like myself with PTSD. Toby has the capability to sense my negative emotions or feelings. He provides comfort and helps my mind to focus on him instead of the negative or irritable thoughts I may be feeling. Toby has been an absolute life changer for me that medication can’t come close to helping, not to mention the negative side effects that medications cause. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, you sponsors have changed my life. Your contributions to Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project are greatly appreciated! Again, thanks for changing my life!”
Those that sponsored Dawg Days II will soon be receiving personal information on the team and will be given quarterly updates as to the team’s progress.
Argonne Post 32 wants to thank all that helped out with The Dawg Days of Summer II. You now have a personal hand in helping to ensure a high quality of living for one of our veterans who has served his country and paid a high price.
JULY26
HENDEL-SERVICE DOGS
