Bob Briggs knows the value of man's best friend.
In April, 2005, Briggs was serving our country as a part of our National Guard in Iraq. His group was attacked by a group of insurgents, and Briggs suffered a penetrating head wound. Briggs lost his right high, nearly half his skull, and received a brain injury that left him partially paralyzed.
On his road to recovery, he and his wife adopted a Rottweiler named Pock, and with the help of a not-for-profit training group, Midwest Assistance Dogs, Pock was trained to help Briggs with a variety of tasks as he deals with his disabilities. Pock is now trained to help Briggs with stability, balance, and helping him pick things up.
"I've been around animals a lot in my life, and when you see a special bond, it's hard to ignore it," said Brigg's wife Michelle.
Fortunately for Briggs, he does not live on military base housing. Earlier this year, the US Military banned dogs like Pock from all military base housing because of their ban on 'pit bulls", Rottweilers, Doberman Pinchers, Chows and Wolf Hybrids from military base housing. So now, a dog that is working as a service dog for one of our wounded military men, would not be allowed to accompany him on a military base. Does that make sense to anyone at all?
This shows the absurdity of not only discriminating against breeds of dogs based on their breed. It also reinforces the absurdity of the military's breed ban on their military bases.
Unfortunately, other military personel aren't as lucky as Briggs. Just last month, a military veteran from Iraq that is is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from dealing with the loss of several friends in the line of fire, had his companion dog confiscated from him in Lakewood, OH. The man relied on his dog to help him to be more at ease when he met new people. The dog was confiscated by Lakewood police because of a ban that was enacted while he was serving his country.
Dogs are great companions for people -- and they can be the type of companions that can really help people in times of need. This ability stretches across all breeds of dogs. It is time to end the descrimination. Now.
You can read the whole story on Bob Briggs here.

Recent Comments