After being on the road since Friday, I finally have time to address all the issues regarding military working dog(mwd) Rex E168 getting adopted by his former handler Megan Leavey that has been ALL over the news recently.

As well intentioned and supportive that people are, there is NOTHING that anyone can do to speed up this process that hasn’t already been done. No petition, no phone calls, no letters, or anything else. The letter from Senator Charles Schumer to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley was more than enough to put enough pressure on getting Rex adopted out as fast as possible.

Lots of false information about the situation has been reported in the media. For example it has been reported that Rex is still in Iraq and isn’t allowed to come home, that the military wants to put him to sleep, that he is dying, and that they won’t allow Megan to adopt him and lots more false info.

Rex will be 11 years old in April 2012. He has faithfully served the Marine Corps for 10 years and has been assigned 10 handlers throughout his career. I had the honor of being his first handler and took him on his first combat tour in 2004. After being Rex’s handler for 2 and a half years I was discharged from active duty.

Megan Leavey then handled Rex for 3 and a half years taking him on two more combat deployments. They were wounded together in 2006 but fully recovered, and Megan was awarded a Purple Heart.

Rex never deployed again after his third deployment, however, he continued to work for the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton after Megan discharged from active duty.

The average military working dog serves about 7 to 8 years in the military, Rex has done 10. He officially was taken off full duty a couple months ago and began the process to be retired and get adopted out after showing symptoms of facial palsy and hip dysplasia. Rex is NOT dying, he is just slowing down.

Before an MWD gets adopted out it has to go through evaluations to ensure the safety of the public as well as the dog when it finally enters the civilian world because THESE DOGS ARE NOT TRAINED TO BE PETS.  They can become great dogs to adopt however they have been trained to attack their entire lives and therefore thorough evaluations must be conducted before they get adopted.

The problem is that these evaluations can take up to several months especially when there are several other mwd’s at Camp Pendleton that are retiring and going through the same process. Rex will be 11 next month, old for a German Shepherd, and with his developing medical conditions it doesn’t help him to sit in those kennels when he should be at a loving home.

A  military working dog would only be put down if it had a serious medical condition or was extremely aggressive making it unsuitable for adoption. Both are very rare occasions and the military would NEVER put down an mwd unless it had exhausted every option and effort to help the mwd. Rex is not suffering from a serious condition nor is he too aggressive so it is just a matter of time at this point. The Marine Corps wants to see Rex get adopted.

I have been in touch with Megan through all these years as we both have built extraordinary bonds with Rex and have stayed updated on his health and progress throughout his entire career. He is very dear to our hearts, in fact I wrote about my experiences with him called “Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between A Marine and His Military Working Dog.” Hopefully Megan will be able to have a book published about her experiences with him as well one day.

As much as I would love to adopt Rex, I fully support Megan’s efforts as they were wounded together and she ended up handling him longer than any other of his handlers. I told her I would support her in any way I could and all she asked of me was to give her an endorsement letter supporting her adoption of Rex which I did last week. Senator Shumer’s office asked for that endorsement letter. The below is what I sent them:

“To Whom It May Concern,

Marine Corps military working dog Rex E168 is currently retiring after having served 10 faithful years to the U.S. Military and will be eligible for adoption. Rex has been assigned 10 handlers throughout his career, completed 3 combat tours, located dozens of explosives/weapons caches, provided presidential security, and thousands of detection and patrol support hours. During Rex’s 3^rd and final deployment he was wounded in combat and has since been diagnosed with mild PTSD.

Rex has experienced traumatic events and spent his entire life as a military working dog and thus requires his adoptive handler to have a great understanding of his background and training. Being Rex’s first handler, and having written a book* detailing our experiences together, I want to see Rex fully enjoy his much deserved retirement to the fullest extent. Therefore I fully endorse Megan Leavey to adopt MWD Rex E168.

Megan handled Rex for three and half years, more than any other of Rex’s other handlers, and took him on two of his three combat deployments. Megan and Rex were wounded by the same IED explosion that Megan was awarded a Purple Heart for. Rex is a combat wounded veteran and it makes sense to allow him to be adopted by another combat wounded veteran that shared in his experiences. Megan provides the added bonus of currently working as a professional dog handler and therefore has never lost touch with the mentality and temperament of a working dog.  When she adopts Rex, they will reunite a bond that forged in combat years ago and provide therapy to one another for the rest of their days.  There is no telling how many lives MWD Rex has saved throughout his distinguished career, but it has certainly been many. In return for his faithful and often courageous service, it is right to allow him a speedy retirement and adoption process so that he can reunite with Megan Leavey and enjoy the rest of his days in her loving home.”

Mike Dowling
Sergeant, USMC (OIF 04)
* Author of  ”Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between A Marine and His Military Working Dog”

Like all retired mwd’s Rex has earned his retirement. He will get adopted out and it will be soon. You can’t fault Megan for trying to speed up the process because as handlers, we look out for and love our dogs more than anybody else. Before he finally leaves Camp Pendleton and the Marine Corps once and for all I will visit him to say good bye as I currently live 2 hours from him. In fact, I have been able to visit him to check on him throughout his entire career. Megan has been in New York unable to see him as easily as I have.

He only has so much time left and he deserves to fully enjoy his final years with all the love and attention he has given to all his handlers, and the Marine Corps, throughout his life. He will have that when he is finally assigned his last duty station…Megan Leavey’s  loving home.

Semper Fi,

Mike Dowling

Click on this photo to visit the "Sergeant Rex" fanpage on Facebook

I am very proud to announce the release of my book “Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between a Marine and His Military Working Dog” on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011. I’d like to share in my own words the feeling of gratification in completing this project and how it all came about.

I received an email from a British author named Damien Lewis in the early spring of 2010 saying he is interested in writing about military working dogs and asked if I can assist. He sent me links to his previous books and awards he accumulated as an author. We ended up speaking and he asked about my experiences as a dog handler. I responded by saying I think it would be great if he could write a book about the 12 Marine Corps dog teams that deployed to Iraq from March 2004- September 2004 in which my dog, Rex, and I were a part of. Those 12 teams were the first Marine Corps dog teams to operate on the front lines of combat since Vietnam and were sent to figure out how to best train future dog teams to be deployed in today’s combat environments.

He said that could be far too much to research and that he wanted to focus the story on one team. He said he was fascinated in doing Rex’s story with me because he enjoyed how passionately I spoke of Rex and the fact that we operated in an area called The Triangle of Death. He also enjoyed how I described Rex as a huge comfort to me while deployed dealing with the potential loss of my father at the time, who was passing away from cancer.

I was hesitant to do the story for two reasons.

1. I had incredibly demanding hours during that time working with the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Battalion-West assisting wounded Marines during their recovery. I didn’t know if I was going to have the time to do this.

2. I felt uneasy putting my life on public display like that and felt all of our dog teams were worthy of having their story told.

I mentioned these two concerns to Damien and the following conversation took place…

Damien: “How much do you love Rex?”

Me: “I love him to death”

Damien: “Do you think Rex’s story is worth telling and how would you feel if the book brought more awareness to how great military working dog teams are?”

Me: “Rex’s story is definitely worth telling, I tell it all the time because I love him so much and I think it would be great if more people knew about how amazing these dogs are.”

Damien: “Well when do you think you will ever get a chance again to tell his story for all to read and have people love him like you do?”

The rest was history.

Click on this photo to visit the "Sergeant Rex" fanpage on Facebook

Since Damien was on European time and I was in sunny San Diego, Ca. I would wake up almost everyday around 5am and Skype for a couple hours before heading to work. After receiving instructions from our publisher and what they were asking, I took a leave of absence and flew to see Damien to work day and night on the story ensuring he had all of my photos/videos of Rex until we ended up with the final version of the story.

The whole process was very cathartic for me and I am extremely grateful to Damien for his patience and enthusiasm on working on the project. I am also very grateful to Peter Borland of Atria books for falling in love with Rex’s story and giving us the opportunity to publish with them.

At the time of writing this post, Rex is now 10 years old and still serves as a military working dog in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, Ca. There are dozens of working dogs at Camp Pendleton and he is currently the oldest and longest serving dog there.

A military working dog will go through several handlers throughout their career. I had the privilege of being Rex’s first at Camp Pendleton. He is now on his 12th handler. “Sergeant Rex” is only about my experiences with Rex. It doesn’t cover the rest of his amazing career in which he completed two more combat deployments with his then handler Megan Leavey. Like Rex’s first deployment, his next two would be in very hostile areas. During his third tour, Rex and Megan would be wounded in action when Rex located an IED but it detonated before they could escape it. Fortunately the ground took most of the force and the two recovered from their wounds.

It is now proven that dogs can suffer from PTSD just like veterans do and Rex was diagnosed with a mild case of it after being wounded in action and never deployed again. He continues to be very effective at Camp Pendleton as a working dog.

He is one of the most gorgeous looking German Shepherds you will ever lay your eyes on which is why we nicknamed him “Sexy Rexy.” He is also VERY protective of his handler and can become aggressive which earned him the nickname “Tyrannosaurus Rex.” In fact, he is notorious for almost biting powerful people including General James Mattis, former commandant of the Marine Corps General James Conway, President Obama, and even the pilot of Air Force One, among several others.

The reason the book is titled “Sergeant Rex” is because as handlers we are trained to address our dogs as one rank higher than our own rank at the time we are handling them so we treat them with respect at all times. I was a corporal during the time of our deployment in 2004 making Rex a sergeant.

Military dogs have saved thousands of lives in every war they have served in. There are many incredible stories about these heroic dog teams but very few have been told. I have two goals with the book “Sergeant Rex”. (1) I hope everyone who reads it grows to love Rex as much as I do (2) That more handlers will be encouraged to come forward and tell their own amazing stories of their experiences with their dogs.

Until all those stories come, I hope you all enjoy “Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between a Marine and His Military Working Dog”

Semper Fidelis,

Mike Dowling & Rex E168

Great report on the Nebraska Task Force 1 Search and Rescue dog teams!

By:  Kelly Sommariva
KSommariva@klkntv.com

The urban search and rescue team was sent to the world trade center after 9/11 and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. They’re called Nebraska Task Force 1, and with the help of expert dog handlers they prepare for the worst right here in the Capital city.

In the entire country there are just over 200 of these nationally certified rescue dogs. The Capital city is home to four of them, and if all goes well, another three by next month. The dogs and handlers are hard at work preparing for that test and today we had an exclusive look on their training.

Buried alive after a natural disaster…. this sound (Dog barking)… Could save your life. Dog Handler Damon Wirth says, “What our dogs do is detect live, human scent. If there’s a tornado, earthquake, any kind of national disaster man made disaster we have our dogs here that are going to be in there to locate the people we can’t find.”

It’s part of the Nebraska Task Force One, Urban Search and Rescue Training. Search Team Manager, Steve Dolezal says, “This is probably the hardest thing you can do with a dog”

Firefighter Damon Wirth and his dog George were paired together last winter. He says, “He’s with me 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So you build a really tight bond”

When the dogs find a person, they’re rewarded with plenty of playtime. But they have to learn to do it in some of the most difficult conditions. The dogs are able to quickly search a large and potentially dangerous area… But they have to complete hours of rigorous training first. “Our dogs have to do the agility portion they have to learn the scent portion plus they have to get it up on here plus they have to do it in whatever kind of environment we’re going to get them to.”

Not all the handlers are firefighters but they are all volunteers. And they all do it for one reason. “The chance to be able to save one person, that’s ultimately what we’re here for is to be able to make a difference in one person’s life…if our dogs can find that one person to get at and make a difference in their life down the road I think it’s totally worth the time we volunteer and dedicate to this.”

Three of these rescue dogs training today are actually rescues themselves from an organization in California. The trainers flew out there last winter to get paired up with their dog. If you’re interested in learning more about their search and rescue team you can log on to searchdogfoundation.org or http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/fire/usar/index.htm

Below is a great article about a program at the Wounded Warrior Battalion West – Detachment Hawaii where wounded warriors participate in helping train service dogs. I’m really happy to see more of these programs being implemented and expanding to other medical facilities to help our warriors as they go through the recovery process. I am a huge supporter of these programs as I had the privilege of watching how much warriors benefit from them after having worked at the WWBn – Detachment San Diego Naval Medical Center. It doesn’t take a doctor to tell you interacting with a dog can improve your morale.  Thank you Hawaii Fi-Do for supporting our troops!!

Hawaii Fi-Do dog therapy for devil dogs

Story by Kristen Wong-(DVIDS) MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii -

Lance Cpl. Joshua Jablon has nightmares from time to time.

Fortunately, he has a new friend he can count on to wake him and offer him comfort when necessary. Through Hawaii Fi-Do, wounded warriors like Jablon are learning to heal, with some canine care.

Since July 15, Marines of Wounded Warrior Battalion West — Detachment Hawaii have been working with specially trained dogs from the local nonprofit organization in an effort to help the mental and emotional healing process for the warriors.

During the six-week program, wounded service members interact
and train with dogs for up to two hours. On average, about six to eight participants come to each session, and as many as 16 can come at a time. The service member must receive a referral from a mental healthcare professional to be eligible for the program.

On July 29, participating Marines went through training exercises with the dogs, teaching them to fetch items, walk specified paths, and obey commands such as “sit” and “stay.”

Susan Luehrs founded the organization 13 years ago, and with
the help of more than 20 volunteers, has brought Hawaii Fi-Do to the local community. Hawaii Fi-Do has also been conducting sessions aboard Schofield Barracks and Marine Corps Base Hawaii for two years. Luehrs said the Hawaii Fi-Do dogs have also participated in a reading program and visited patients in the hospital.

Luehrs said she sees the Marines smile when they work with the dogs and even try to teach the dogs tricks on their own. She said through the program, Marines also learn social skills by interacting with the dog.

Marines also benefit from the program by receiving education about dog care, such as heartworm prevention.

“How you interact with a dog is how you interact with a person,”
Luehrs said.

It takes two years and $20,000 to train a service dog for the Hawaii Fi-Do program, and more than 50 have been certified since its inception.

“I think it lifts morale,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Carrillo, staff non-commissioned officer in charge, Wounded Warrior Battalion West — Detachment Hawaii. “Anything that lifts [the] morale of a Marine is a good thing.”

Carrillo said when the dogs come to the detachment, the wounded
warriors are upbeat and have smiles on their faces.

“It’s calming and relaxing,” said Cpl. Leon Sandy, a patient at the
detachment. “It’s not like we do this every day, so it’s something different.”

On July 29, Sandy went through training exercises with Bella, a 4-year-old German short hair and a Hawaii Fi-Do dog.

Cpl. Daniel Hall, a patient at the detachment, is hoping to obtain a
service dog, and considers the time with the Hawaii Fi-Do dogs a bonus.

“This guy’s a smart one,” said Hall of Shakespeare, a 3-year-old German shepherd and a Hawaii Fi-Do dog.

“He knows how to get his food and he knows what to do as a service dog.”

Hall said dogs make him happy and offer companionship.

“They always brighten my day,” he said.

Hall said he currently has some trouble walking, and it helps to have
a dog with him. He hopes to get a dog like Shakespeare.

“In the past two years, two dogs have even been placed with
discharged wounded warriors from the Marine Corps,” Luehrs said.
In order to do so he or she must apply and be certified in handling the dog, and placement occurs once the service member separates from the military. The owner and dog need to live in Hawaii for a minimum of one year for the organization to conduct follow-up training.

Luehrs said Hawaii Fi-Do is willing to share information regarding
obtaining a service dog for discharged wounded warriors who are planning to move back to their homes on the mainland. She suggested service members wait until they are fully settled in their homes before considering having a service dog.

Jablon is currently training and living with Ono, a 14-month-old
Labrador retriever, and if all goes well, she will move to Minnesota with him. But for now, Ono accompanies Jablon everywhere, including doctor’s appointments.

“Wherever I go, she goes,” Jablon said.

Ono will also lick Jablon’s face if he turns off his alarm and goes back to sleep. Since Jablon started working with Ono, he said she has changed his mentality, and he has become more positive.

“She’s always there smiling with a wagging tail,” he said.

Hawaii Fi-Do dog Finnegan, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever, has
also spent additional time with the detachment. He is trained in various skills such as handling patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, opening doors and retrieving items such as socks and clothes.

Luehrs said the program has been made possible through support from organizations such as the Hawaii Impact Foundation and the Kaneohe Officers’ Spouses Club. For more information about Hawaii Fi-Do, visit http://www.hawaiifido.org/.

Military working dog Chyba passed away from pancreatic cancer on Saturday July 30th, she was 12 years old. MWD Chyba lived a long and heroic life, completing multiple combat tours with the U.S. military. She was the inspiration behind the monument at the Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas, Ca. I’ll never forget having had the honor of meeting Chyba once before and tell her thank you for her service.

Military-style memorial for hero war dog

Story by CBS 8 News

ENCINITAS (CBS – She was one of the first military dogs deployed to Iraq, and the inspiration behind a local memorial for our four-legged veterans. But on Wednesday, loved ones said a final goodbye to Chyba, a 12-year-old German shepherd, for her service at home and abroad.

She was a four-legged military veteran who sniffed out drugs, escaped bombings and worked in an Iraqi prison. But it was pancreatic cancer that claimed Chyba’s life.

“Seven weeks ago yesterday, with pancreatic cancer that had unfortunately spread to her liver by the time that we found it, so it was much faster moving than any of us expected and this isn’t the outcome any of us expected,” Rancho Coastal Humane Society President Jim Silveira said.

The 12-year-old dog was honored at the Military Working Dog Memorial in Encinitas, the only private memorial of its kind west of the Mississippi.

With her owners, other handlers, friends and family standing by, the 10-year Army veteran was remembered in a military-style service for her vigilance, loyalty and companionship.

“She gave 10 years of her life to the US Army, in her military service and I think this is a proper way to say goodbye to her and let the people who’s lives she touched say goodbye,” Silveira said.

Silveira shared the “owner” role with friend Madeleine Pickens, who adopted Chyba last year. While Madeleine was too emotional to speak on camera, Jim says he often cared for Chyba while she was out of town. As he shared memories about her obedience and protective nature, he breaks down while reflecting on her love of tennis balls and his daughter’s stuffed animals.

“She was an amazing dog, incredibly playful. I have five- and seven-year old girls, she was their best friend,” he said.

With her ashes tucked close to Madeleine and Jim’s hearts, the two hope her life of service — and this unique memorial — will bring more attention to the brave animals on the front lines.

“She will live here forever. And you know, it’s sad today, but it’s an everlasting monument to her and to show the support of all of the military working dogs out there,” Silveira said.

What an incredible story behind an incredible organization. One of the grimm realities of war are the psychological issues veterans face when they come home. Dave Sharpe is one of those veterans and almost let PTSD get the best of him by holding a loaded gun in his mouth and was ready to pull the trigger when his 6 month old pit bull named Cheyenne came to his rescue. Dave refrained from pulling the trigger and has since put his energy into helping other veterans dealing with PTSD by providing pets through his organization called Pets 2 Vets. Read and watch the full story below.

War veterans find peace of mind with pets

By Chip Reid (CBS News)

For too many veterans, the battles don’t end when they come home from war. Combat stress has no easy cure. But one vet found peace was a lot closer than he thought and now he’s helping others find it, too. CBS News correspondent Chip Reid has his story.

Dave Sharpe calls his pit bull Cheyenne his savior, and that’s no exaggeration. When she was just a puppy, she saved his life

Sharpe served with the U.S. Air Force security forces in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After two near-death experiences, he returned home with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Before I met her, I was a wreck,” said Sharpe. “I was out of control, I would start fights for no reason.”

Deeply depressed and filled with rage, he decided to end his misery with his pistol.

“[I] cocked it back, put it right in my mouth and I sat there and cried for about a minute or two,” Sharpe recalled. “I was this close to pulling the trigger.”

That’s when Cheyenne, who was then six months old, came to his rescue.

“She came up behind me and she licked my ear, said Sharpe. “And she gave me this look of, ‘What are you doing man, who’s going to let me sleep in your bed? Listen, if you take care of me, I’ll take care of you.’”

Sharpe realized at that moment he had something to live for. But he didn’t stop there, as he decided that what saved him might save others like him

So he started Pets2Vets, now known as P2V, an organization that has put dozens injured veterans together with their own four-legged saviors — dogs and cats. P2V makes sure it’s a good match, provides training, even pays for the pet’s health insurance.

The pets come from a shelter in Washington, D.C., so the rescuing goes both ways. Veterans get a desperately needed companion and some of these guys get a new lease on life.

Marine Sergeant Jimmy Childers lost a leg to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan that also caused traumatic brain injury. He was prone to angry outbursts — until P2V paired him with Tidus

“Just his look gives me all the answers that I want to calm me down,” said Childers.

Childers looked into getting a trained service dog, but was told it would take more than a year. Anyway he says, that’s not what he needed. “I don’t need a dog to grab my prosthetic leg. I don’t need that.”

But Tidus gives him what he does need. “He gives me back unconditional love, no judgment,” said Childers.

Sharpe said the demand is never-ending on both sides

“There’s 18 veterans that commit suicide every day in this country,” he said, “and one animal is put to sleep every eight seconds.”

Dave Sharpe puts the two together to save each others’ lives

For information on P2V, click here to visit their website.-Pets 2 Vets

WOW, give that dog a bone! The best part of this story is that the police dog was bought by confiscated drug money.

Montgomery K-9 unit sniffs out $1 million cash seizure

By Melissa Johnson (WSFA)

MONTGOMERY, AL -

In a press conference Monday morning, the Montgomery Police Department announced that they took in $1.15 million in cash, found in the cargo of an 18-wheeler along Interstate 65. It’s the largest cash seizure on record in the City of Montgomery.

A patrol unit pulled over the tractor trailer for an illegal lane change near the interchange on Interstate 65.

A canine unit, Daisey, is credited for the discovery of the money, that was hidden inside the trailer.

Officers say the driver willingly allowed them to search his truck, but because it’s an open investigation, MPD is keeping most of the details close to the vest.

The police department will be able to keep about 80% of the money, but it has to be used for crime enforcement.

Daisey, the dog who helped find the cash, was also purchased with illegal drug money, seized off the streets of Montgomery.

Copyright 2011 WSFA. All rights reserved.

Ultimate recognition for a police dog that was critically injured in the line of duty. This dog saved his partners life, unfortunately at the cost of losing use of his hind legs. Please help in recognizing this brave police dog’s efforts by leaving a thank you comment to Major below.

By: Stephanie Crock-KSTP

Major the police dog and his handler have another award to add to their growing collection.

Major was presented a Medal of Valor from the Minneapolis Canine Unit last night.

The Roseville K-9 was stabbed during a burglary back in November and lost the use of his hind legs.

Since then, officer John Jorgensen has helped get a law passed to increase the penalty for people who injure police dogs.

The award ceremony was part of the United States Police Canine Association’s police dog trials. The Minneapolis Police Department has 12 dog-teams competing.

Roseville Police K-9 ‘Major’ (Roseville Police Department)

A great story about a great organization called Helping Hounds located in Pennsylvania. Most of the breeds being used as service dogs and therapy dogs have been Labradors and Retrievers, it’s great to see an English Springer Spaniel being used. To make it even better, it is a rescue dog. Great job by Helping Hounds, please read and share stories like these to help spread the great work rescue dogs can be in helping our veterans!

Service dog ‘saved life’ of Mechanicsburg veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder

By Beth Anne Heesen, The Patriot-News

When Douglas Maugans is plagued by nightmares of war, he can always count on Tanner to wake him up.

The 5-year-old English springer spaniel presses the touch pad on Maugans’ nightstand with his nose to turn the light on, gets up on his master’s chest and lies there for as long as he’s needed.

Douglas Maugans of Mechanicsburg, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, worked in air traffic control with the Army National Guard. He has a special bond with Tanner, whom he taught to be a service dog with training from Helping Hounds.(Beth Anne Heesen, The Patriot-News)

Two years ago, Tanner became a medical service dog through Helping Hounds, a program sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Animal Alliance of Mechanicsburg, which works out of an airplane hanger at the Capital City Airport in Fairview Township.

Volunteers teach veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to train their dogs.

Maugans saved Tanner from a rescue shelter in New Orleans four years ago, and now Tanner was ready to save his master.

After a year and a half in Bosnia, Maugans, now 54, felt like he wasn’t a person anymore. He left home as the mayor of Marysville in 1999 and returned in 2000 with PTSD.

He spent almost three years in a Veteran Affairs hospital, got out in 2009 and moved to Mechanicsburg.

Fear of being in crowds kept him “living like a hermit” in his house. He often had panic attacks, and his night terrors were so bad that he didn’t know night from day because of his rocky sleep schedule.

“Tanner transformed my life to the point where I became socialized again. I got involved with the VFW, do my own shopping and visit veterans in the hospital.”

Tanner learned to get in and out of buses and how to behave in an elevator. He learned to walk beside Maugans’ cart at the grocery store and resist temptation to grab items from shelves.

If Maugans is in line or in a crowd of people — where hyper-vigilance kicks in and he is easily startled — Tanner stands behind him and nudges him with his paw when someone comes within 5 or 10 feet.

“When you’re with your dog, it takes the focus off you,” Maugans said.

Most people don’t realize that he has a disability, so Tanner is the icebreaker that allows him to talk about it.

“People see his vest and say, ‘Are you training him to be a service dog?’ and I say, ‘No, he is my service dog.’ To be able to talk about it at least on the surface is important.”

With Tanner as his service dog, Maugans no longer needs to take anxiety and sleep meds, which helped in the past but put him in a fog.

“The reason why dogs chew things up and destroy your house is that they don’t have a job to do,” said Joan Klingler, a volunteer trainer for Helping Hounds. “They have a phenomenal amount of energy, and a walk around the block just isn’t enough.”

A big part of Maugans’ success is the “homework” Helping Hounds gives him.

“I have to train him, and if I fail I’d be letting not only myself down but also my dog,” he said.

Kelly McGinley, who started the program in 2009, said the dogs give the vets the sense of camaraderie that they had with other soldiers in combat.

Maugans takes Tanner with him to visit hospitalized vets. To know that he can encourage others who go through the same things he does is the greatest achievement.

“If it wasn’t for Tanner, I’m 100 percent sure I would have been back in the hospital. He saved my life.”

HOW TO HELP:
For more information about Helping Hounds or to make a donation, go to www.cpaa.info/helpinghounds.html