Bruce & Ziggy
I would first like to thank Soldier's Best Friend for taking me on as one of your clients, and personally thank Jamie, my trainer for the endless hours of training me and Ziggy. Without the support of Soldier's Best Friend and Jamie my journey would never have been as bright.
In the 1960’s I was a fun person with lots of friends, spending the winters snow skiing and tobogganing when I wasn’t digging out our neighbors’ and my parent’s driveway in Massachusetts. That fun-loving guy I use to be all came to an end in 1967 when I entered the Army and went to Vietnam. You had to change your demeanor and become hard core to survive. I was told “if you can make it through the first four months you had a good chance to make it through your twelve month tour.” Returning home was different, I didn’t understand why. I could sleep well, it was too quiet. I worried about my brothers still in Vietnam. I put my fist through my door one night. Still to this day I have had challenges sleeping. My wife and I sleep with a pillow between us just in case I go back in time and start fighting again. It took over 50 years before I would seek help.
My counselor in my PTSD group suggested I look into a service dog. I looked into all kinds of breeds and finally made the decision - an Australian Labradoodle would be the perfect fit for me. That’s when I got in touch with Soldier's Best Friend. After conversations with Jonathon and other staff members I was accepted! I had several conversations with Jamie before we met to have Jamie evaluate Ziggy to see if he had the potential to become a service dog. I couldn’t of asked for a better trainer. As a trainer she is all in. Totally focused on helping me and Ziggy. It was over thirty two years since I owned a dog. She taught me so many valuable lessons on dog training, and dog nutrition. How could I have asked for more!
In closing, what Soldier's Best Friend has done for me and hundreds of others is priceless. I can’t thank you enough for all the help and support.
