Kenneth & Hailey
I would like to thank everyone here at Soldier's Best Friend. The board members and all the people that donate to this fine organization that helped me get my baby to be a service dog. All the people that run the everyday things around here. All the trainers are great. My trainer Julie Westphal is the best. She is very knowledgeable and patient with us all. I think she should be trainer of the year. We still have work to do, but I am so glad to have found these fine folks. They really do touch two lives at a time.
My name is Kenneth Myers, I am a retired US NAVY veteran and proud to have served my country. I would do it all over again if I had to. As with other veterans I have issues that my shrink thought a dog would help with. I have not had a dog for well over 40 years. I kept telling my doc that I did not want to be tied down and I did not want to get a dog. After about 8 years I found my baby Hailey she was 8 weeks when I picked her up. I was told not to take her out and about until she was fully vaccinated. So, she only saw my face every day for about 4 months. I really do not like going out in the world. I would rather stay home. If I did not have to go anywhere, I would not leave my house. After getting my baby having her for a little while, I wanted to be able to take her with me anywhere I wanted to go. All my friends said that they could see a difference in me. My attitude was better, I was not so quick to get fired up. Now I do not know what I would do without her. I did not know what to do as far as training her to be with me all the time. I tried a different service dog training company for a little bit. It was very expensive and we only got one hour a week for training. I did not think it was enough. I ended up spending about $ 1000.00. I was not a happy camper. Then I heard about Soldier's Best Friend from a friend at my VFW post. I filled out the application and here we are. You have changed my life. I still have issues about going out in the world but I am getting better. I can get out of my house 4-6 days a week. Hailey started to sleep with me in the bed about 7 months ago. She used to sleep on the floor. She has started to snuggle at night sometimes. She is starting to pick up the leash off the floor and hand it to me. Hailey loves going to parks and things like that. She likes going to my VFW post and seeing everyone. She really gets excited to see us pull into the parking lot at SBF. She loves the agility yard. I can ramble on about my baby pretty much all day. I cannot thank everyone here enough for helping me and my baby Hailey.
Thank you.
