U.S. Navy veteran shares how his dog Ellie gave him a purpose and mission.
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. Navy veteran and U.S. Naval Academy graduate William “Buddy” Marshall, who shares how his service dog Ellie provided him with a purpose and mission.
I suffered a spinal cord injury from a motor vehicle accident in 2015, which caused full-body paralysis. I applied for a service animal from the organization America’s Vet Dogs while I was still recovering at the rehab hospital. Fortunately I was accepted and was able to meet Ellie in my home environment the next spring.
During the most difficult first couple years of recovery and adaptation to life as a quadriplegic, Ellie saved me. She became a purpose and a mission. She was a source of unquestioning love and care. She was my ever-present companion and my new best friend.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
I had found a new goal, and that was to provide for HER. In whatever ways I could learn about or devise, my objective was to find every way possible to interact with this gorgeous, loving, exceptionally well-trained-to-serve Golden Lab. I struggled mightily and failed more often than I succeeded in my attempts. But the effort was the point. There was a great deal of frustration and despair when I fell short, but Ellie did not care. She loved me regardless; she gamely learned each new contrived routine; she kept her eyes on me as long as I was in my wheelchair; she walked hundreds of miles at my side.
We live in the woods next to a lake. It was apparent to us sooner than it was to her that a promising source of stimulation for her would be the smells of the forest and the exercise of swimming. After two years of remaining flawlessly focused on her mission—remaining exclusively focused on me and attentive to my commands—she began to entertain my exhortations that she “go play.” She found a small piece of her missing stimulus in brief rolls in the grass and retrieving a thrown float toy from my father.
I was not left with many abilities after my injury. This dog became a new failure of mine. I could not find a way to rise to her level. We could have been an unstoppable team if I had found a way to give her the interaction that she needed, that she had been trained to expect. But she never let me down. She is there every morning, every time I hit the chair, and every time I go outside for a walk. I couldn’t do everything I thought I should, but she was everything that I needed.
Her loyalty is unsurpassed. Her companionship was a sine qua non. I would not still be here without her love.
Thank you, my Ellie Belly.
- Veterans Healthcare