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The flags will fly. Cannons will fire. There will be fireworks.
The song "A Pirate's Life for Me" will be played over and over as the New York Giants take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football at Raymond James Stadium. The program is on the cable network, ESPN.
If things go well, Chris Godwin will find the end zone and look up to see two Army veterans and their dogs cheering in the stands, and a life they never thought possible if not for them.
"Veterans are a group of people who care about each other." "They're putting their lives on the line to fight for the freedoms of all of us in this country," said Chris Godwin, a receiver for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
The Team Godwin Foundation and recipients of service dogs from K-9s for Warriors, a nonprofit that rescues dogs from high-kill shelters all across the Southeast, trains them and pairs them with veterans in need of mental, physical and emotional support, are guests of Cruz and Stephens.
The Team Godwin Foundation and its owners, including the husband and wife team of Godwin and his wife, have joined forces with an organization to sponsor a service dog for a veteran with the hope of saving two lives.
Giving someone hope can do a lot. It gives you hope that the sun will come up the next day if you have a service dog.
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The dogs need love and support just like their humans. They train in Ponte Vedra, Florida and San Antonio, Texas, and then spend three weeks with their veteran. The price is between $25,000 and $30,000 per dog. Some dogs don't make it through the program because they have the wrong temperament, but they are still adopted out to loving families.
Veterans are a group of people who care about each other. They are putting their lives on the line to protect the rights of all of us. I feel like a lot of the time, when they come back to the country they fought so hard to protect, it doesn't mean they deserve to be treated that way.
We respect them a lot. It takes a special kind of person to put their lives on the line for others, and there are many of them that don't get the praise or the glory that they deserve.
The program is not covered by insurance, but it was passed by Congress in August. It will allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make a $10 million grant to private entities for service dogs for eligible veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, allowing programs like K-9s for Warriors to go from helping hundreds of veterans each year to thousands.
The Warriors' chief marketing and development officer said that the government has realized that this is real.
If we can do something to bring some of them peace and some hope and some love, I would love to be able to do that. It is hard to have access to a service dog if you don't have the means, but it is also an important thing.
I felt like I was dead on the inside.
After she finished her tour of Iraq at the age of 26, she was unable to integrate into civilian life and had to rely on birthdays and holidays.
"I didn't think I was worth much," he said.
Rebecca Stephens and her dog.
She was haunted by the trauma of living in an active warzone for a year and felt disconnected from the world, which caused her to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She was given painkillers for her physical pain.
She used heroin for seven years after her prescriptions ran out.
She moved back in with her parents after she was kicked out by her girlfriend. She had been to rehab three times and stole from the people she loved to support her addiction. She felt like she couldn't trust people.
"I remember sitting on my bed, thinking, can I continue doing this or is suicide an option?" said Stephens. This was a great way for me to escape the situation I was in.
The yellow lab entered the life of the man in August of last year. At 2 years old, with a crme colored coat, an affinity for swimming, knocking over orange traffic cones and most of all approaching strangers, Bobbi was not quite 2.
Another veteran thought she wasn't a good fit.
It took her a long time to connect with me, because I just wanted her to love me immediately. She was hesitant because I was out of rehab, so she asked how long I would last.
They started with basic commands and progressed to walks in the park, which has helped strengthen their relationship.
They go to the mall, the beach, and the movies, and for the first time since she returned from Iraq, they'll watch her beloved Buccaneers.
Although she is active, she never takes her eyes off of him.
The strongest bond I have ever had with an animal is the one I had when I hesitated. She made me work. I was never taken for granted because of the amount of work that I had to do to get her affection. I adore this dog.
She helps me face my fears.
Cruz was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 He was a bomb dog handler and trainer for the Special Forces.
IEDs went off the whole time I was there. Cruz said they heard gunfire. We got into a big fire fight a month before I came back.
He didn't want to have a combat action badge. He was not able to sleep at night. He was having panic attacks. He was missing out on important moments with his wife and daughter.
Hannah is a black lab with big paws and brown eyes.
She will lay down behind him if they go to the movies. She will know if he is suffering from a flashback or about to have a panic attack. She helps him stay present when he starts to sweat and feels a flight response.
She will distract me from what is going on. Cruz said that she will lick him and try to figure out a way to get his attention. My wife has told me that she has seen her laying on top of me at night.
She is with him when he goes to the gym, when he is in a crowd at a store or at a theme park. He and his wife were able to go on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas in March 2020, just before COVID-19 hit. They went with Hannah.
Carlos Cruz has a dog.
Cruz said that she helps him get back to normal. She helps me face my fears.
He acknowledged Monday will be difficult.
I will try to enjoy it as much as I can, but at the same time, I can't promise you I won't be looking around, seeing who's coming up behind me, looking at people.
Where would he be if Hannah had not been in the picture?
In my house. Cruz said with the curtains drawn. I would not leave. I would be taking my pills. That is it.
It shows the power of love.
According to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention annual report, in the year of 2019, 17.2 veterans died by suicide, while 1,068 shelter dogs were euthanized.
The salivary cortisol of veterans with service dogs was compared to those still on the wait list. Cortisol is a stress hormone. The study found that veterans with service dogs had similar levels of cortisol to healthy adults.
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Many program participants have stopped taking their medication. The 700th dog was matched with a service member. They want to help more people and animals. The wait list will last until 2025.
The increase in capacity will allow us to get the wait list down as quickly as possible.
Our goal is to end veteran suicide. Our organization and these veterans getting a service dog, hearing the stories of Carlos and Becca, and their bravery gives them the courage to seek help, that's all we want. Dogs are always in the mix. We love our animals.
Stephens hopes other veterans will give the program a chance and give life another chance, after he was sober for three years and counting.
The biggest failure in life is not trying to make the best of your situation. It can be hard to look inward and get to a place that would make veterans happy, because they focus on bettering the lives of everyone around them. A lot of the places and people that veterans need help with are provided by K-9s for Warriors. It is possible to try to put yourself first.
It shows the power of love. Rescue dogs and support dogs bring love and reason to keep going, because that is the main component of what a rescue dog or support dog brings to your life.
