Dobby is my day to day, he is my safety.
He's my buddy.
He's given me my freedom back, really is what he's done.
So I initially made the choice to serve just
because I've always felt like I had a desire to
serve more than just myself and that's exactly
what I would be doing.
And Marine Corps
just to me seemed like the best.
It was May 2nd of 2011.
We stepped out on patrol in the morning
and we could all just kind of instantly feel
that that day was going to be different.
As we were patrolling we noticed that a
motorcycle was kind of hanging around us.
We searched the person a few times,
and then a little later on in the patrol that same
motorcycle came through with a second
individual on the back, they climbed off
and turned around and detonated a suicide vest.
That was when everything kind of became real and we realized that we weren't invincible.
So for me a lot of my injuries are I guess you
could classify them as the invisible wounds of war.
Post Traumatic Stess, Traumatic Brain Injury.
I'm extremely fortunate I don't have missing
limbs or scars on my body but at the same
time that almost makes it harder because
from my outward appearance most people
would probably think that I was perfectly fine.
But, often times day to day being in social
environments - going to the grocery store,
going to the mall - is very hard for me.
Just because I'm not comfortable.
So Dobby has kind of come in to fulfill
that role. And kind of help me to come out of
my shell. And be more of who I was
before I went on deployment.
So Dobby fills both roles.
He is both Service Animal and Family Dog.
Which at times can be a difficult distinction to
make. Luckily for him he just kind of naturally
took to it. When he puts his vest on he knows
that he is going to work. And that it's time for
him to just focus on me and fulfill the role.
A lot of times he is watching my back, making
sure I am comfortable. He's very in tune with
how I feel emotionally and when we're at home
and we're hanging around as a family and he's
not working he's playful and he's a family dog
and he's playing with the kids.
There are some times that I've noticed where
I'll come home and he can just kind of tell that
I'm off or I'm having a bad day and I'll get
home from work and his focus will
immediately be on me.
We just adore him. He's a sweet dog.
He is gentle, and who knew that he was
such an amazing dog that was going to have
such a big impact. My wife is really the rock of
the family. If it wasn't for her I probably would
have never even considered getting a
service animal. Because I was stuck in that mindset
of "my injuries aren't bad enough"
even to this day oftentimes I don't think that
I deserve him.
But she finally got me to do it and I met the people at Delta Dog.
And they decided to accept me into the program.
At Operation Delta Dog we only use rescued
animals and these dogs are in as much need
as our Veterans are in need.
Dealing with Rescues obviously has its
challenges but the benefit that it has is that for
me, obviously suffering from sometimes
almost crippling anxiety, Dobby is also
suffering from anxiety.
And then when I'm out with him my concern is
less about myself and my own anxiety and I'm
concerned with making sure that he
is comfortable and that he is doing ok.
And that I'm giving him the attention that
he needs. When Paul matched with Dobby he
really started opening up with his other
Veterans. Sharing about himself but also kind
of taking in what his peers were going through.
And that's a tremendous win at
the end of the day. Volunteering at Operation
Delta Dog has re-fulfilled
my sense of purpose. To hopefully be there
and be able to be an influence for someone
who is coming in and is not as comfortable
with the idea of having a Service Dog.
If I can put someone's mind at ease for them
to fall in love with the dogs and fall in love with the
process then I'm more than happy to do that.
He's so selfless and being a part of this
organization just gives him an outlet and he
can give back. He can't serve our country
anymore but he can serve the people in his
community and his fellow brothers and sisters
in Arms. I think as Veterans we naturally want
to act like everything's fine.
I think it's very important that we get the help
that we need. And when opportunities are
provided to us to get additional care or to
get a Service Dog try and look past the fact
that maybe you feel shame or you feel that you
are not worthy of it. You know, all these things
are here for each and every one of us.
And we have to use them because
we are our own living legacy.