Invictus Games and Dog Named Jester

Pooch SAVED war veteran and helped him compete in Invictus Games
The Daily Star UK
Ed Gleave
January 14, 2018

Jon, who took home a bronze medal last year, said: "I'm trying to push myself and see what I can achieve and that all seems a little bit easier when I've got Jester with me.

Ex-Royal Marine Jon Flint fell 30ft while abseiling during a training exercise in 1996.

It left him with a fracture in his lower spine, but because he was so fit it went undiagnosed until he left the services.

After quitting the Marines his condition got worse until he was unable to walk unaided.

That's when threeyear-old labrador Jester stepped into offer him a lifeline. Jon, a former lance corporal who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, said: "It's difficult to put into words how much difference he's made to my life and the life of my family.

"When I was in the Royal Marines I knew the guys with me always had my back. And now I know Jester has always got my back."

For three years, assistance dog Jester - featured on ITV's Britain's Favourite Dogs on Tuesday - has helped with taking out laundry, opening doors, answering the phone and picking up Jon's stick.

Jon added: "He's always with me wherever I go and he enjoys what he does for a living because he's a working dog.

"He's trained to enjoy it. He makes the things that I struggle with a lot easier."

Thanks to vital help from Jester, Jon was able to join Britain's archery squad for the Invictus Games. And while competing he became pals with its founder Prince Harry.
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Suicide of Veteran may have changed future of UK PTSD veterans

It is said that things only change when something hits a politician personally. Looks like that just happened when one of the soldiers Price Harry served with committing suicide. Now the Daily Mail is trying to do something about changing the story from tragedy to offering hope of healing.

Tragedy of Harry's band of brothers: How battlefield trauma affected the soldiers the prince served with in Afghanistan - including one who killed himself
Daily Mail
Mark Nicol and Nick Craven
January 13, 2018

Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt is believed to have tragically died last week. It is said he struggled to cope with the effects of battlefield trauma. Since then two more members of Harry's desert reconnaissance unit have revealed they also suffered with serious mental health issues. The Mail on Sunday have launched a campaign to support them.

This is the elite band of brothers, including Prince Harry, that were sent on a top secret mission to take on the Taliban in one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan.

This is the elite band of brothers, including Prince Harry, that were sent on a top secret mission to take on the Taliban in one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan

Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed how one of the courageous soldiers pictured here, Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt, is believed to have tragically killed himself after struggling to cope with the effects of battlefield trauma.

Since then two more members of Harry’s desert reconnaissance unit have come forward to say they too have suffered serious mental health issues as a direct result of their harrowing experiences in the war zone.

This shocking revelation comes as The Mail on Sunday joins forces with Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, in a campaign to dramatically improve the provision of mental healthcare for serving soldiers, a service which medical experts say is ‘on its knees’ due to spending cuts. read more here

The Holiday Bar won in court but did right thing anyway

When the news came out this bar turned away a PTSD service dog, they were actually within the law. They won in court. But then, something stunning happened. They did the right thing and held training for other business owners to learn the law and what these fabulous service dogs do!

The Holiday Bar holds service dog training session for local businesses
WZZM ABC 13 News
Noah Fromson
January 13, 2018

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - The Holiday Bar in Grand Rapids hosted a service dog training session for local business owners Saturday.

"We thought they might be interested in hosting us because of what happened, and they were," said Jenn Gavin, owner and head trainer at A Pleasant Dog in Grand Rapids.

The Holiday Bar in Grand Rapids hosted a service dog training session Saturday for local business owners. (Photo: WZZM)

The bar and restaurant refused to serve veteran Jerome Smith, and his service dog, JoJo, on Friday, Nov. 10. The Holiday Bar manager said they were kicked out to keep JoJo safe, but apologized for "disrespectful and unprofessional" actions. The business then donated more than $2,000 to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.

Gavin, along with local attorney Nicholas Vander Veen, spoke to a small crowd about what business owners can and cannot do when people come into their establishments with service dogs.

"You can ask two questions: is that a service dog trained to mitigate your disability?" Gavin said. "What is it trained to do? You can't ask for certification. You can't ask why it's not wearing a vest."

On Jan. 4, a Kent County prosecutor said The Holiday Bar manager would not be charged because JoJo was not wearing a leash when the incident occurred.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals must be "harnessed, leashed or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal's work or the individual's disability prevents using these devices."
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Homeless Vietnam Veteran Beaten and Robbed of $25?

Homeless veteran severely beaten, robbed but getting help soon from metro nonprofit

FOX 4KC News

Robert Townsend

January 12, 2018

“We may not be his family, but we’re his military family, and we are here to help him," Stout said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- James Dodge survived the battlegrounds of the Vietnam War, but all week he's been at a KC hospital in a lot of pain after he was attacked out of nowhere.

“My head hurts, my tailbone hurts, and my eyes still hurt," the 71-year-old Army veteran said. "I have a laceration in my left eye that’s just now starting to heal to the point where it doesn’t feel like rocks are in my eye."

Dodge has been homeless since Christmas. He knows by living on the streets, his life could be in danger at any moment.

Late Sunday night, that fear became all too real.

“I seem to recall I was walking to a store and a guy just came up behind me and hit me in the back of my head and on top of my head with what felt to be a metal pipe or a hammer, and he was punching me in my face," Dodge said. "I fell to the ground, and he kept kicking me. It still hurts to walk right now because he kicked me in my spine."

Paramedics rushed the injured veteran to the hospital. The attacker ran off with $25 he stole from Dodge's pockets.

“I would have given him the money," Dodge told Fox 4's Robert Townsend from his hospital bed. "He put me through a lot and could have killed me over $25. People are so crazy today, and there’s just no compassion. They don’t care."

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Firefighter counts herself blessed to be able to help during one more

A veteran of tragedies from 9/11 to Katrina, one firefighter counts herself blessed to be able to help during one more

Los Angeles Times

Louie Sahagun

January 12, 2018

In the 27 years since joining the Los Angeles Fire Department, Hollyn Bullock has reported for search-and-rescue duty for tragedies like the World Trade Center terrorist attack in New York, Hurricane Katrina and the deadly train derailment in Chatsworth that claimed 25 lives.

Los Angeles firefighter Hollyn Bullock. (Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times)

On Friday, the veteran firefighter joined a team scouring through the wreckage of the latest disaster. Seventeen people were dead after mudslides tore through the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito. At least five remained missing.

And so, along a sodden, debris-tangled corner just east of the 101 Freeway, Bullock and others searched on.

“Honestly, I feel fulfilled, even blessed to have been given the opportunity to get in there and help people in times of crisis,” she said as fellow firefighters hosed contaminated mud off her boots and pant legs.

She was part of a team of 26 men and one woman: herself. 

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