North Myrtle Beach Vietnam veteran sees service dog as ‘godsend’

North Myrtle Beach veteran sees service dog as ‘godsend’
By Janelle Frost - jfrost@thesunnews.com
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Larry McMahan, a Marine who served two tours of duty in Vietnam gives a treat to Abby, a Canine Angels service dog, rescued from the North Myrtle Beach Humane Society, that will assist him in daily life. McMahan has partial paralysis of his right arm and leg related to his military service. 02/08/12 Photo by Charles Slate

The first day Larry McMahan met Abby, they became best friends. That night, in January, McMahan knew Abby was in bed with him, but she lay still and quiet until he turned his head.

That’s when she licked his nose and cemented their bond.

“She’s a godsend,” McMahan, a North Myrtle Beach disabled veteran, said about his new service dog, a 2 1/2-year-old white terrier mix. “She goes everywhere with me. She’s such a good dog.”

Abby is, in fact, an angel -- a Canine Angel -- one of a group of service dogs specially trained to help veterans like McMahan, who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, has a paralyzed right side since having two heart attacks and a stroke, and symptoms of Agent Orange poisoning.

An infantry platoon sergeant in the Marine Corps for 5 1/2 years, McMahan served 1 1/2 tours in Vietnam. Now 61, he and his wife, Piper Belanger, moved from Charleston to the Grand Strand area to help care for their 14-month-old granddaughter, Riley.
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