One year, how fast and slow a year can go by. For Terran and Hershey, that year marked  measurable growth for both. I reflect with joy, tears and pride….

Nothing can say it better than  Terran himself, here is the email I got…

Well it has been a year now that Hershey and I have been paired together. Wow what a year it has been!  All I can say is thank you to all of the supporters. Stiggys Dogs has done so much for me and my family. I have to give special thanks to Jen, Donna, and Rachel. Rachel was and still is Hershey’s foster mom. Rachel and her husband even took care of Hershey for a week in January for me.

This past year has been so amazing for me!  I heard about Stiggy’s Dogs from Debbie who is a friend of mine and I was interested to know more. So when I meet Jen and Donna a year and half ago I was curious, but not sure. I didn’t know how a service dog could help me with my P.T.S.D.. But I was ready to try anything at this point. I had been out of the Marine Corps for 5 years and the VA hospital had not been that much help. I had been trying different meds and therapy and still not got any better.

When I first found out that I was going to get a dog I was happy. I have never had a dog as a inside pet. I started looking at all the pictures on Facebook and read the stories with Tiger. I knew I wanted a dog like that! I seen a picture of Hershey and something told me that she was the dog for me. I asked Jen and she had informed me that she was going to be for another veteran. I was bummed a little but thought maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. A month and a half later Jen called me and said ” we are going to get Hershey from North Carolina and train her for you”. I was shocked and felt that it must have been faith! I was so happy.

After her training it wasn’t but 2 weeks and we were going across the country in a moving truck together. My friends Jeff and Cheryl where moving to Arizona and asked if I would drive the moving truck. I knew that Hershey would love that truck ride. It was more than a truck ride, it was bonding time. It took 3 days of driving but we made it out there. Before I left to come back to Michigan they wanted to take me out to eat at one of the places in the area. Will we were eating I could hear a lot of small talk about Hershey and everyone was trying to guess what kind of a service dog she was. My anxiety was going up and then it was time to leave. I stood up and Hershey knew that I needed to get outside. She knew that it was her job to take care of me so she was pulling me straight to the exit and got me out side to cool down. At this point I knew how a service dog was going to help me.

Well it was going to be another first for Hershey and a challenge for me but it was time to go back to Michigan and we were flying back. She sat on the ladies lap next to me the whole way back home. She was wanted to watch my back but couldn’t stand in the isle so the lady invited her up on her lap so she could still work. Well I was so much more comfortable with her that I started doing more things that I once enjoyed in life. She was helping take the depression away. We have been to a NASCAR race and been going to all VA appointments together. We now volunteer at the metro airport in the Freedom center. People say that I seem so much happier now with Hershey.

So thank you all for everything!

I would like to ask for everybody to donate just ten dollars today to Stiggy’s Dogs.  This will help with out next training group of dogs for our veterans. Remember that veterans day is just one day a year but everyday that we still have veterans alive!!!