“Thank you for helping me get my husband back”

Charles Sam and Molly

This is a letter from the wife of a member patriot in reply to our first post-adoption follow up. Her husband, Charles, is an 80% disabled Army veteran. The letter is addressed to Ted, a Marine Corps veteran, Pets for Patriots adopter and our most excellent volunteer coordinator for veteran outreach.   +++   Dear Ted:   Thank you for your email and checking up on my husband and Jimmies, who is now called Molly. She never answered to Jimmies, but we took a few days and tried alot of names with her, and her best response was to Molly.   I would like to thank your organization for Continue reading …

Second chances for Purple Heart veteran and shelter cat

Katrina and Rumer 1

A Purple Heart veteran survives two Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks and pays it forward by saving an adult shelter cat named Rumer. Katrina was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, where she trained as an Army Motor Transport Operator (88M). Twice deployed - once to Iraq for a year and again to Afghanistan for 15 months - the Army veteran miraculously survived not one, but two IED attacks. Four-and-a-half years later, Katrina left the military with a Purple Heart. Survival and second chances Life after the military was challenging. Katrina enrolled in college and is receiving her Continue reading …

Shelter dog helps veteran manage PTSD and sobriety

Robin and Tucker

It took the healing powers of a shelter dog to help one Air Force veteran come to grips with her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and aid her continuing sobriety. Robin is a Vietnam War Air Force veteran struggling with PTSD, an alcoholic with almost two years of sobriety and has put an abusive marriage behind her. For a time, she was so self-destructive that she became homeless. Ultimately, she was referred to HudVash, a nationwide Veterans Administration (VA) service that helps homeless veterans get back on their feet and into their own homes. Paying it forward Now Continue reading …

Navy sailor and shelter cat set sail for a better life

D'Ann and Lily at VBSPCA

A Navy sailor found the key to a better quality of life in the paws of a shelter cat desperate for a more fulfilling existence as well. D’Ann joined the Navy two years ago as part of an ambitious, but “nebulous plan.” Her goals in enlisting were many: “…to improve my quality of life financially, physically and educationally.” With a touch of humor, she adds: "It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and one that will probably send me to an early, stress-induced grave.” The Navy sailor is married, but lives what many in the military community call a geo Continue reading …

Pint-sized Captain steers veteran through PTSD recovery

Larry and Captain poolside

Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, were no match for one little dog who gave his adopted veteran a new leash on life – and a fresh start decades after the Vietnam war. Oh Captain, my Captain! Life has an interesting way of bringing joy into our lives when we least expect it. Some might call it serendipity, a type of happy accident, such as seeing a old dear friend you haven’t seen in years at the grocery store.  Take, for instance, the story of an Ohio man and a foster dog. While visiting his cousin, Larry – an Army veteran from the Vietnam War – was Continue reading …

Cancer-stricken veteran finds ‘best bud’ in scrappy shelter dog

Johnny Charlotte Stanley 1

An Army veteran living with stage four cancer, Johnny needed something to help get his mind off the idea of living with disease. A scrappy little shelter dog the veteran and his wife, Charlotte, call their “Godsend,” turned out to be the right prescription. “That’s not my dog” When the couple first brought home Stanley, a mini-Schnauzer, they weren’t convinced that he was, in fact, a mini-Schnauzer as advertised at the shelter.  Stanley’s previous owner had passed away and the papers proving his pedigree status got lost. His grooming fell by the wayside, giving the three Continue reading …

Pit bull heals Army veteran’s broken heart

Dale and Maximus Christmas

The much-maligned pit bull is pure myth for one veteran whose broken heart was made whole after the death of his beloved pet dog. Dale is a Vietnam veteran who enlisted in the US Army and served as a combat engineer in Germany from 1969 to 1972. Other than the time he spent in the Army, Dale had never lived without the faithful companionship of a dog. In June 2012, Dale and his wife, Sue, had to put to sleep their beloved 13-year old Doberman, Destiny, who had succumbed to old age. Dale was devastated by this loss. A house without a dog is not a home After Destiny passed away, Continue reading …

Vietnam veteran’s best friend is a cat, not a canine

Lawrence and Tweedy

It is often said that a dog is a man’s best friend, but for one Vietnam veteran a special needs cat – not a canine – fills that role. It is a sad truth that young, small and healthy cats and dogs are the first to be adopted at shelters across the country. This means older, large-breed and special need pets are left to either live out the rest of their lives in shelters or, even worse, are euthanized. Every year animal shelters throughout the United States care for approximately six to eight million dogs and cats, however, more than half are put to death because no one adopts Continue reading …

Dog lover makes room in his heart for a cat named Callie

Mark and Callie

A dual Marine-Army veteran  and dog lover learned that he had a soft spot for, of all things, a rescued Calico cat. The Vietnam-era Devil Dog - a term associated with the Marines since WWI for their legendary bravado in battle - found joy with the finicky feline, who's proving to have a personality as resilient as her savior. After serving in the Marine Corps from 1973 to 1975 and then the next eight years in the Army as a heavy–wheel vehicle mechanic, Mark separated from service with the rank of sergeant first class. The disabled veteran always fancied himself a dog person, but that Continue reading …

Cinnamon adds spice to life for one Navy couple

Christopher and Cinnamon

One Navy Vietnam veteran learned that a litte bit of cinnamon each day helped improve his health and his wife’s emotional well-being. His therapeutic dose wasn’t the kind that lends its powerful aromatic appeal to rolls, pies or chocolates, but was rather the four-legged variety. Christopher joined the Navy in March 1974 during the Vietnam War and served til March 1978. During his four years, he was attached to the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Five, known as the Seabees, out of Port Hueneme, California. “I was lucky not to have to go to war," he says, “but I still Continue reading …

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