What My Service Dog Means to Me

 I was born and raised in the greater Spokane area. The second week of my senior year at Riverside High School I turned eighteen. I quit high school to join the Army to be in the infantry and become a paratrooper. I went to basic training at Fort Lewis, WA in September, 1967 

I went to Vietnam in May of 1968 and was assigned to a long-range patrol unit. We worked in 6-man teams and did reconnaissance, ambushes and prisoner snatches. I volunteered to be the point man for our team. It was dangerous work with frequent contact with the enemy. I saw a lot but never got physically wounded and left in 1969. I didn’t fit in the stateside Army and constantly got in trouble. I thought it was the Army that was messed up, not me, so I volunteered to go back to Viet Nam in 1970. 

My second tour I was assigned to a reconnaissance platoon where I volunteered to be point man again. I wasn’t aware of the mental toll war was having on me. I left Viet Nam and spent the next 17 years in the Army. 

After I retired from the Army, for 50 years I lived with anger issues, lack of trust, severe startle reflexes, overwhelming PTSD and an inability to stay in a relationship or a job. I knew I had problems and started going to the Vet Center in the Spokane Valley. I learned a lot about myself and my issues but still needed help. That is when I met Joe and Operation Dog Tag, a program designed to help combat veterans. 

I already had a dog, but I needed training on how to handle her. Joe has been showing me and redirecting me to be able to have my dog become a true service animal. My dog, Siri, is still in training but she senses my emotional needs. When I am slipping into depression, she will come to me and give me comfort. She is being trained to get me out of stressful situations and crowds. Thanks to Joe, she has made more progress in the last few months than I was able to teach her in years. Operation Dog Tag is helping me get back to a more fulfilling life.

Sincerely, 

Gene Boyer, US Army, Long Range Patrol