This announcement is long overdue. I am honored and proud to announce these three remarkable woman, all a part of our Stiggy’s Dog family…. Without them, I do not know where or how our future would go. We are poised to proceed into the New Year stronger, because of you; Faith Harris, DeeDee Reno and Kim Saks. After starting to write about one, I realized, they each need their separate post….(starting in no particular order)

Announcing:

Faith Harris- Assistant Director. If the name sounds familiar it should. Faith is one of our Veterans who is paired with Honor. Faiths passion for our organization continued once she was Deployed with Honor and returned home.  Faith was determined to help us, putting to together a fundraiser (in 6 weeks) in Charlestown to raise us money. During that time, Faith was able to organize a whole town around Stiggy’s Dogs….so much that through the awareness, support, and donations……that we would ultimately like to have Faith (with her Boston crew) be our first Forward Operating Base. Hopefully by end  next year we will be opening Stiggy’s Dogs New England!

With that being said……we have much work to do to get us there.  But that doesn’t stop Faith, her and Honor have been our personal PR crew, doing public interviews, going and speaking at functions, holding separate charity benefits,  radio/news interviews/  TV. Faith has gone above and beyond, stepping out of her comfort zone, all so she “Can help other Veterans as we have helped her” Her sacrifice, again, is honorable. I am more than happy to announce Faith Harris as Assistant Director to Stiggsy Dogs, my right hand man (woman)!  She will be learning all aspects of Stiggys, working right with me- preparing her for the next step, while helping us to grow and stay strong .

But more than what she is to Stiggy’s Dogs, is what she has become to me personally, and my family.  While spending time at The Barracks,  you also spend time with my family. My 15yr old son, who is normally withdrawn, liked Faith instantly. After she left, he felt sad seeing her and Honor leave saying something abut “Faith being the funniest person he knows.” Faith has listened and supported me thru some of my many outburst of frustration, anger, stupidity and sadness. Her strength is so huge, that sometimes she carries me…

This does not end here, as I was going to.  All the while during these past months, there has been  more going on. There is always so much more to the stories, the things you don’t know that go on…..But before I wrote more, I needed to ask Faith’s permission;

“Faith, you know that what I am about to say has no bearing on how I feel. That all the work you have done for Stiggy’s, for Honor, is remarkable. (All volunteered and NOT paid btw) And what you/we go through in our personal lives shouldn’t be reflective. Yet, we; Stiggy’s, you, I are all intertwined…… Plus, once I post the link to Honor being accepted as a nominee for Hero Dogs of the Year 2012 , the news will be made public anyway. People will see and read that you are battling Cancer.”

….. it hangs in the air. That nasty “C” word….. and she replies

“Jen, that’s what I am. That’s what I do. I am a Warrior. I fought in Iraq, I fought when I came back (PTSD)..and I will fight this. I am doing this for my other Veterans…….they get it, that’s what we do….”