An Oregon man has become the 700th veteran and the first Vietnam War veteran to receive a service dog from K9s For Warriors when his new puppy Loose joined him.
The 73-year-old Lieutenant Colonel David Wood served in Vietnam and suffered a serious leg injury in a crossfire in 1968. Two years later, he also tragically lost his brother in the war.
Wood was awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantry Medal for his bravery in Vietnam.
According to reports, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after retiring from the military in 1995 and has experienced “a lot of emptiness” in the past five years, leading him to search for service animals.
After graduating from the K9s For Warriors program with four other veterans, Wood went to Florida to train with service dogs, and his wish came true. Wood told local reporters, “Coming to K9s For Warriors and accepting Loose is the best experience of my life.
“I am seeking treatment and medication within the VA system. I am looking for an alternative, and that alternative allowed me to explore dogs first,” he continued. “Then I discovered the world of service dogs. I found K9s For Warriors online, and I immediately felt that it was real.”
Loose is named after another Vietnam veteran, John Loosen, who reportedly served as a veterans advocate until his death earlier this year.
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K9s For Warriors calls itself “the largest supplier of service dogs for veterans in the United States.” The company “provides well-trained service dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and/or military trauma”, and most dogs are reported to come from high lethal shelters.
The 10-year-old non-profit organization in Florida also stated that it “pairs them with well-trained service dogs by guiding our scientifically proven process, and providing them with support during and after the program. Support veterans.”
The organization has placed hundreds of service dogs, but it has never placed a Vietnam War veteran before. K9s For Warriors CEO Rory Diamond (Rory Diamond) said that he hopes Wood will be the first of many players.
Diamond said: “We have provided services to more than 700 soldiers struggling with the invisible trauma of war.” “The story of Lieutenant Colonel Wood tells us that veterans of all ages can find hope again through service dogs.”
K9s For Warriors has previously placed dogs on veterans of recent wars, such as the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Gulf Coast. However, recent studies have shown that PTSD can also affect a large number of elderly veterans, such as those who served in Vietnam, the Korean War, and World War II.
However, this milestone is not the only good news that K9s For Warriors received that day.
Stryker Corporation is an important supporter of the program and also donated US$55,000 to the non-profit organization from their “Own the Walk” event.
Weekly newspaper The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been contacted for comments.
