Veterans Helped by Healing Paws
Alan Poizner for The New York Times
INSEPARABLE Sharif, who knows 40 commands, has helped Jeffrey Adams adjust to his prosthetic leg. A bomb disabled Mr. Adams in Iraq. More Photos »
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Encouraged by Deuce’s success with patients, Mr. Naranjo contacted accredited service dog organizations and learned that several had started programs specifically for recent veterans. “These soldiers are a very young population; they do not want canes or crutches,” said Mr. Naranjo, who is also a specialist in the Army Reserve.
Many veterans, after suffering traumatic injuries, are “fighting to get their independence back, and dogs give them a sense of independence,” he added.
Service dogs are 24/7 companions that can retrieve and carry objects, open doors, call attention to safety hazards, help with stress and balance difficulties, and provide a bridge back to society. “Veterans can feel vulnerable walking around with these disabilities,” Mr. Naranjo said. “When they go out with a service dog, it draws attention away from the injury.”
Through the efforts of Mr. Naranjo, the staff at Walter Reed’s department of physical medicine and rehabilitation and the Military Advanced Training Center, the hospital refers qualified veterans to organizations like Canine Companions for Independence Veterans Program (cci.org), America’s VetDogs (guidedog.org/vetdogs) and Neads Canines for Combat Veterans (neads.org).
JEFFREY ADAMS AND SHARIF
As a platoon leader in a combat engineering unit in southern Baghdad, Jeffrey Adams, 29, a first lieutenant, was responsible for 35 soldiers. While he was on patrol on Nov. 7, 2004, an improvised explosive device blew up 10 feet from him. When he looked down, his leg was gone. “All I could think of was, I have to crawl back to my vehicle and I have no leg,” Mr. Adams said.
By Nov. 10, he was at Walter Reed, where he was given a titanium prosthetic leg. His rehabilitation lasted six months. Afterward, he and Mr. Naranjo started discussing the possibility of a service dog.
Though a dog lover, Mr. Adams found that the traits that make a good soldier do not always make a good patient. “You get military people that think, ‘I’m an alpha male, alpha female, and I don’t need a dog,’ ” he said. He eventually overcame his reluctance, and in February 2008 was teamed with Sharif, a yellow Labrador and golden retriever mix from Canine Companions for Independence Veterans Program. The two have been inseparable since.
Sharif is trained to respond to 40 commands, a skill that becomes crucial when Mr. Adams removes his prosthetic leg. In addition to retrieving dropped objects and helping with balance, the dog barks only in an emergency, and the neighbors know that. Mr. Adams said that his wife, Katie, “jokes that Sharif has made me lazier, but that’s not it. He makes me safer.”
Mr. Adams has adjusted well to his disability. Retired from the Army, he lives in Huntsville, Ala., and works for Boeing as a systems engineer. After taking up skiing in 2005, he became a certified ski instructor in 2007 and teaches other disabled veterans. He is also a dedicated advocate for service dogs for wounded veterans. “They are there to help you, assist you, and will be always there for you regardless,” he said.
MARK EUGENE GWATHMEY AND LARRY
Master Sgt. Mark Eugene Gwathmey, 38, comes from a family with a proud history of military service. He enlisted in the Marines at 19, served in the first gulf war and did two tours of duty in Iraq. While in Iraq, Sergeant Gwathmey was near several devastating explosions. A building wall collapsed over him, and in another incident, his foot was injured. He returned home in May 2005 to his wife, Carolyn, a retired master sergeant in the Air Force, and lives in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Shortly after coming home, he began to show serious symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or P.T.S.D., including hand tremors, extreme anxiety and nightmares. When unexplained seizures soon followed, he began treatment at Walter Reed in 2006.
Ms. Gwathmey said her husband’s seizures last anywhere from a few seconds to three hours. “They can be bad enough that he will start to drool,” she said. “His body will lock up and shake violently.” After them, she said, he sometimes does not know who or where he is.
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