Paralyzed PTSD Service Dog Learns to Walk Again

Paralyzed service dog recuperating in Homer Glen
Chihuahua mix paired with Vietnam veteran in war dogs program
Chicago Tribune
By Taylor W. Anderson
Tribune reporter
January 15, 2014

Vietnam veteran Gary Jordan is missing one of his most important troops: she's a 3-year-old Chihuahua mix named Belle who's trained to help him deal with his severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 69-year-old is coping while Belle — a service dog trained through a Chicago non-profit that since 2010 has paired dogs with vets with post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related brain injuries — rehabilitates from a spine injury that paralyzed her on Thanksgiving Day.

"How am I doing without her? Not well," Jordan said. "Because she's my service dog, and we've been with each other since February."

Jordan has been driving several times a week from his apartment in Markham to Integrative Pet Care in Homer Glen to see Belle, who is learning to use her back legs again at the clinic after surgery. Typically, the two spend every moment of every day together.

Jordan and Belle are a team put together by War Dogs Making It Home, a charity that rescues dogs from animal shelters and matches them with veterans who need help.

"We save two lives at a time: one dog and one veteran," said Eva Braverman, the agency's president.
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