Therapy dog gives veteran 'a new attitude on life'

A 12-week-old Papillion therapy dog traveled more than 500 miles by car to meet his new owner, U.S. Marine veteran Larry Barnett. A survivor of the deadly Mayaguez Incident during the Vietnam War, Barnett was gifted the dog after its original owner could not care for him due to a tragic motorcycle accident.

Vietnam War-era Marine veteran Michael Jones and his famous 11-year-old Papillion, General, were in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 17, that claimed the life of General and resulted in a medically-induced coma for Jones. The two inseparable companions logged more than 200,000 miles together on Jones’ motorcycle, with General in a pouch around his waist, as they traveled throughout the country to raise awareness about POWs and MIAs.

In honor of General, Barnett’s therapy dog is humbly named Lil General.

“(Jones) has given me the most precious gift that you can imagine," Barnett said. "It’s more than a puppy – it’s a new attitude on life.

“The man basically took a piece a his heart and said to another veteran ‘Here, take a piece of me with you.’ This is only the second time in my life that I actually felt love in a whirlwind.”

Lil General was delivered to Barnett in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday by Jones’ 27-year-old daughter, Amanda Schwartz, and longtime friend Art Graham. Schwartz and Graham traveled from their home in Kansas City, Mo., to Columbia, S.C., to pick up the dog from breeder and Legionnaire Dan Hoffman.

“We decided to donate him to another veteran as a contribution from my dad to help somebody else,” said Schwartz, whose father is currently in rehab. “This is what my father wanted.”

Jones contacted Hoffman through Facebook about purchasing another Papillion dog as General was getting older. Hoffman said it’s important to get the dogs at a young age for bonding purposes and to get the dog accustomed to traveling on a motorcycle. With Jones’ accident prohibiting him from immediately connecting with the dog, several of his friends – including Graham – wanted another deserving veteran to receive the Papillion. Around the time of Jones’ accident, Hoffman received a phone call from Barnett – who he knows through Mayaguez Incident reunions – about wanting assistance in finding a PTSD therapy dog. Barnett’s VA doctors believed a therapy dog “would be a positive benefit” for him.

Hoffman told Barnett, “this is your lucky day.”

Hoffman gave Barnett’s name to Graham, who immediately knew Barnett was the perfect match for Lil General because of “his service, what he’s been through, and he didn’t have the ability to get a service dog on his own,” Graham said. “He was in need of a service dog so it was just natural. It’s an honor to give this small gift to him in recognition of his service.”

Barnett believes the way Lil General came into his life “is a miracle,” he said. And in the first 10 minutes with his new puppy, he discovered that his VA doctors were “100 percent right.”

“For so many years I thought I was the only one who had PTSD and felt this way," Barnett said. "I labeled myself as someone not as brave as someone else. In late 2000, I found other veterans that I served with in Vietnam and Cambodia, and I found out that a lot of people felt the same way I did.”

Barnett is a founder of the Koh Tang/Mayaguez veterans group, which was organized to help survivors of the deadly battle heal. Like Hoffman, Barnett was among the 230 Marines and airmen sent in to rescue crew from the Mayaguez, an American container ship, on Koh Tang island in Cambodia on May 15, 1975, due to it being detained by the Khmer Rouge. The 14-hour operation resulted in four helicopters being shot down, including one that Barnett was in, and the lives of 38 men and three MIAs. The fallen were the last names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Hoffman’s own Papillion dog, named Koh Tang Dan in honor of the Mayaguez battle, saved him when he was at his lowest with PTSD. He knows Lil General will do the same for Barnett.

“I know how terrible and debilitating PTSD can be, so we are just so excited and happy to participate in this wonderful thing to help another veteran,” said Hoffman, a member of Post 6 in Columbia. “This is just a fabulous thing that we were able to help Larry.”

Barnett said Lil General is going to help him fight through his PTSD, all while having “his run of the roost. He is going to be spoiled and the center of attention; and he will be sleeping right by my head.

“In one breath the best I can say is that I’m humbled and honored.”