Mohammed & Trigger
I’d like to begin this testimonial by thanking Soldiers Best Friend from the bottom of my heart. I am a Veteran of the Army and recently retired as an Associate Warden from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I left the Army in 1995 and have been dealing with PTSD since an incident in the desert early that year. As a soldier, I deal with it, finding ways to manage the demons however I can get through the days. After 23 years in the Bureau, all the homicides, assaults and the traumatic shattered pelvis I sustained, the PTSD was spiraling out of control. I often wondered about a service dog, but as I researched, it wasn’t affordable. My VA psychologist, in one of our sessions, asked if I would be interested, which I was. They told me about SBF and that’s where the change began, though I didn’t know it at the time. I went through the process of applying and not long after that, Lelsie and Bailey came to the house for a home visit. As they asked me questions, I opened up to subjects that I do not speak about. Once their visit was complete, I impatiently waited to see if I would be accepted into the organization. On September 15, 2023, I received a call from Calvin and he informed me I was accepted into the organization. I was extremely excited, anxious, and nervous all at the same time. Leslie helped find me what has turned out to be the perfect pup. We both had issues when we met, something we both would have to work through. She didn’t know her name, wasn’t house trained and lacked confidence. I named her Trigger because it didn’t take much to set me off anymore. I didn’t know anything about training a dog so we would learn together. Our biggest challenge was “Stay”. She had been dumped before and wasn’t going to let me walk away, ever, it seemed. We practiced over and over and nothing seemed to work. The frustration was deep, but my love for animals and especially for her is unconditional. One day in training, Bailey made an adjustment to what I was doing, and it worked! Turned out Trigger knew it all along, I just had to learn how to communicate it to her. This was it, there’s nothing we can’t do together! Through all the training and tests, we grew closer together. I have now learned how to manage my issues better. There will always be “Those days”, but with her by my side, they are less frequent, and I am able to manage the demons so much better. I am proud to be part of the SBF organization. The motto is “Touching 2 live at once”, in my case, it’s Saving Two lives at once. Thank you.
