If you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you’ve seen our weekly series featuring both Hero Dogs and the humans in their lives. We recently featured a U.S. Navy Veteran who is partnered with service dog Hero Dogs Molly and wanted to share what Justin had to say on our website, as well.
Name & City: Justin, Frederick MD
Branch, rank, & military experience: USN, CTIC(SG/NAO), deployed to joint and Allied conventional and Special Forces in support of ONW, OSW, Ops Desert Strike, etc., MIO, OEF, OIF
How I learned about Hero Dogs: through the amazing web site when I first began researching how a service dog might help me with my disabilities and public access
My service dog’s name, age, & breed: Hero Dogs Molly Pitcher, named after apocryphal Revolutionary War heroine, aged six, black English Labrador
Most impactful part of having a service dog: taking care of Molly requires that I take care of myself; it is the first step in re-achieving normal daily living that prior to the event precipitating my disability I took largely for granted.
An impressive skill my service dog can do: When I am hospitalized inpatient, Molly knows in which room I’m staying despite having only been there briefly the night before!
Favorite way to have fun with my service dog: typical of most Labradors, Molly lives for fun in the water—in it, under it, through it and around it!
Anything you’d wish to share with someone considering applying for a service dog through Hero Dogs?: To apply for a Hero Dog is not a decision that one should make lightly; to commit to caring or raising one, either. The aid and comfort a Hero Dog will bring to your and your family’s life by extension is fundamental but requires patience, willingness, tenacity and commitment. To casually try and take advantage of this priceless resource devalues the time and effort spent in preparing Hero Dogs for their work lives and could potentially make someone else with need go without, or wait even longer. You’ve earned the right to ask; now deserve the opportunity to be given.
