Chicago man, woman charged with murder of veteran in University Village shooting
I read a lot of strange stories. This just made it to the top of my list of head exploding reporting! A Vietnam veteran served 3 tours and was dealing with PTSD. He adopted a rescue dog. Great story so far. Then I went to the link on Robert Howard to see what was reported by Sun Times Homicide section. The story on the dog was longer than the story on Howard.
Should we care a rescue dog was left homeless again? Sure, but have things gotten so bad in Chicago a story on a dog seems to mean more than a murdered veteran?
Apollo needs new home after his rescuer, Vietnam veteran Robert Howard, was shot to death in University Village Chicago Sun Times
by Brittany Reyes
Posted Feb. 9, 2016
Robert Howard Jr. was a graduate of VALOR (Veterans Advancing Lives of Rescues). He was killed on Jan. 26 and is missed by loved ones, Safe Humane Chicago members, and his emotional support dog, Apollo.The death of Robert Howard Jr. left the dog he’d once rescued without a home and his best friend.
Howard, a 62-year-old Vietnam War veteran killed in a shooting in University Village on Jan. 26, was the proud owner of Apollo, a big, joyful puppy who was matched with Howard through Veterans Advancing the Lives of Rescues (VALOR).
VALOR is an 8-week Safe Humane Chicago program that pairs military veterans struggling with post traumatic stress disorder with animals that had been abused, neglected or used for fighting.
After struggling with PTSD since his three-year tour in Vietnam from 1970-73, Howard began participating in VALOR in early 2015. His experience with the program was so positive that he decided to adopt a dog for himself, according to Cynthia Bathurst, the organization’s executive director.
In April 2015, Howard acquired Rugby, an 8-month old puppy who’d been rescued through Chicago Animal Care and Control. Howard renamed his new companion Apollo, and documented their experience together in a feature for The Unexpected Pit Bull’s 2016 annual calendar.
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