Iraq-Afghanistan Veteran's Service Doge Saved His LIfe

Iraq veteran: “Service dog saved my life.” 
Asbury Park Press
Amanda Oglesby
May 17, 2015

“When you have things that really hurt your soul, that you’ve either done or gone through, and you’ve been to the other end of the spectrum of what I guess is normalcy… you really need that kick to get out of it,” Campbell said. Kenan “is that kick.”

SEASIDE PARK – Nightmares and anxiety attacks have rattled the life of Army Sgt. Adam Campbell in the eight years since he was struck by an improvised explosive device and a rocket-propelled grenade in Samarra, Iraq.

His physical injuries — spinal fractures that left him partially paralyzed for nearly a year, a traumatic brain injury and shrapnel wounds in the back of his legs — were compounded by post-traumatic stress, the 32-year-old Wall resident said.

But one special yellow dog with chocolate brown eyes has made a world of difference for Campbell, a Lakewood native who served in the Army for five years, in both Iraq and Afghanistan, before he was injured.

Kenan is a four-year-old golden retriever with $35,000 worth of specialized training under his service dog jacket.

“He’s the ultimate reminder to calm down and breathe,” Campbell said Sunday outside Chef Mike’s Atlantic Bar and Grill.
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