Army veteran on his dog: ‘I don’t know what I would do without her.’
National Service Dog Day falls on Sept. 20 and is designed to honor the role of service dogs in the lives of people with disabilities and America's veterans. The day was designated by Congress in 2023 and is part of September’s National Service Dog Month.
We asked you to share how your service dog has impacted your life, so we can share your story with others. We will continue to publish those stories throughout September.
Submit your own story and photo on www.legiontown.org in the “Why I Love My Service Animal” section.
Our latest in the series is from U.S. Army veteran Kevin Ferguson, who describes the love and comfort his service dog Joy provides.
I received Joy back in February 2021,and ever since I’ve been with Joy for the past five years my life has changed in many ways for the better. (STORY CONTINUES BELOW)
A little about me: I served in the Army for about four years. I did all my training back at Ft Benning, Ga. I did Airborne training, and I got injured so I ended up at Ft Polk, La., where I did my whole tour. My unit was the first unit to hit the grounds of Panama back in 1988, where I served in the conflict Just Cause.
A few of my disabilities are PTSD, spinal stenosis, bi-lateral knee injury and many more. I received Joy to help me with PTSD, which causes me to have combat nightmares and severe depression; these issues have caused a lot of tragedies in my life over the years. Having Joy for the past five years has helped me overcome these issues 10 times over, just from the love that she gives and the comfort that I feel from her. We all have our families and loved ones that are there for us, but the love from a service dog is 100-percent different from the love you feel from a family member that will never understand the struggle we all deal with on an everyday basis.
What I love about Joy is that when I have a nightmare, she’s right there to help me, I love her for the times I’m feeling depressed and she comes over and comforts me by lying on me showing her love and letting me know that whatever I’m dealing with, it will be okay. Joy is a blessing and I love her with all my heart, and I love her for making a difference in my life and for teaching me how to handle the most difficult times in my life that I could not handle before.
I thank the America’s VetDog’s Foundation for giving me my lifeline because without Joy, I don’t know where I would be today. Last, but not least, I had to send Joy back to be retrained for a few different reasons, but while she was gone from me I thought I could handle her being gone. But it wasn’t true. I had a meltdown because she was gone and it felt like I lost her because she wasn’t there when I needed her the most. So with this being said, this is why I love my service dog: because she is a part of me and my everyday life, she is the glue that holds my life together, and I don’t know what I would do without her.
- Veterans Healthcare