By Curt Hendel
Veteran Writer
On Friday, August 17th I was fortunate to take the short flight to Denver for another very great function. The main fundraiser was to be held on Saturday for RMDP, the non-profit that Kevin Sonka runs. If you remember, Kevin was the Gold Star Father that brought his travelling memorial of all dog handlers killed in the War on Terror, including his son David.
There was another reason that I was brought out; it was to introduce our newest Service Dog recipient and his puppy. Sgt. Nicholas Carey Sr. (retired) is a four-deployment veteran that is a very worthy candidate after all he was required to do during his time at war. Hit with both Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury, Nick had been working hard at attempting to reintegrate into society after he was deemed unable to continue his military career at a young age.
I had been working with Nick over messenger and the phone since March and had walked some of his path with him during this time, including when in April his wife took off with another man and their two young children. With the help of my wife Caroline, we were able to secure a full sponsorship for he and his new Service Dog.
Another of our Service Dog Teams was there, our old friends Steve Brown and Toby, the team Argonne Post 32 helped to sponsor last year. On Friday afternoon we all got together for lunch and a get to know session; along with Kevin Sonka. Nick had been introduced to his puppy, a 9-week-old yellow lab now known as Gunner, earlier in the week. Kevin just couldn’t wait to bring them together after flying Gunner in from Georgia!
Saturday started with a motorcycle poker run. Registration was held at the Colorado Freedom Memorial, a great monument to all Coloradans that have either been Killed in Action or are Missing in Action since the Spanish American War. This beautiful memorial took millions of dollars and many years to complete. The last piece put together was a memorial to all Coloradans buried in United States Cemeteries overseas. In the base of each of these monuments is soil from the graves of United States service members that were killed in action and laid to rest on foreign soil.
While the motorcycles were rumbling, we took a trip to Kevin’s son David’s hometown of Parker, Colorado. The city built a large dog park in honor of David. This day, as with so many others, the park was filled with dogs and owners playing and interacting with each other.
After the ride, everyone gathered at a place called Lulu’s, where a social hour was followed by Kevin speaking on behalf of the RMDP and Service Dogs for veterans. He talked about his son, David, that had been killed in action in Afghanistan along with his K9 Flex. This Gold Star Father was a fitting warm up for the next speaker. Steve Brown stepped up next to talk about his journey in the military and his two-year tour that resulted in his PTS and TBI issues. Steve told a heart wrenching tale of his fall to the bottom, hatred of medications, and thoughts of suicide. This story ended with his introduction to Toby and the life saving tool a Service Dog can be. Steve has been med free since April 1st of this year and is back to living a life that we all deserve, especially those that serve their country in the Armed Forces. Needless to say, there was not a dry eye in the house, including mine. Steve is now full of life and loving every minute of it that Toby has given to him!
The next speaker was Nick Carey Sr.. As hard as it was for him to be in public, much less speak in front of a nice crowd, he excelled in telling his story of service and sacrifice, including losing four of his close friends in one day. You could also feel the affect that six days with his new puppy was having on him and his optimism for the future, optimism that was not there just a few short months ago. This highlighted the emotion of the night.
From there prizes were awarded for the Poker Run, all of which were generously donated back to Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project, and then an auction of many other donated items. It was amazing to see a community pay way too much for goods and services to help out RMDP! We even sold the shirt off of Steve Brown’s back, TWICE! To see this man that had struggled with the public just a year ago laugh and work the crowd was amazing! The final tally of funds raised that evening was just short of $14,000. That takes us a long way to the next Service Dog!
Another guest in the house was a Marine that had replaced David on his first tour and has been a friend of Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project for several years. He is on his own journey of reintegration to civilian life, but he has a different four-legged partner. After leaving the Corps he fought tooth and nail to adopt the dog that he served with in combat when the Military Working Dog was unable to work any more. Pablo was also a fan favorite. The 12-year-old Belgium Malinois was as laid back as he could be, even after a career as a War Dog. Pablo was content with the love of those coming to pet him while he held his favorite tennis ball.
A few hours of tears, laughter, and plenty of conversation followed. Everyone in the house was touched by the stories they had heard and many pledged to help in the future. At the end of the night the hugs, hand shakes, and good thoughts flowed freely.
I am working to get the video of Steve’s talk up on the RMDP Facebook page. If you get a chance, look up Rocky Mountain Dawgs Project on Facebook or visit rockymountaindawgsproject.org.
This trip, though very short, was a piece of my puzzle of giving back that has been staging its own path for many years now. To be a part of an organization that is actually giving lives back to some of our veterans is very humbling, to say the least. It sure gives a great perspective to your struggles and how to use your own issues to help others.
