There is No Dog

 

by REBECCA S. LINDEMAN

from Somerset Magazine, December 2015

 There is no dog in this story; nor was there one on October 12, 2000 when the USS Cole was attacked by al-Qaeda suicide bombers.  Seventeen American sailors were killed and 39 injured.  Fred Ings II was one of the 39, but there are days – far too many of them – that he wishes he’d been the 18^th.  The wounds he sustained required multiple spinal surgeries and, ultimately, forced his retirement from the Navy. 

To say that the memories of that day haunt him is not enough.  Fred rarely sleeps through the night and what rest he gets is plagued by dreams so vivid that he wakes in a Yemen hospital rather than his own bed.  He is forever at war, a place no child belongs, so he keeps his son and daughter at an emotional distance.  Even his wife is kept at arm’s length.  As is the case with many active-duty veterans, Fred is in a constant state of hypervigilance, checking every shadow, corner, and barrier for possible threats.  He is exhausted, in both body and mind.

PTSD is a battle Fred can no longer fight alone, nor should he have to.  He and his psychologist have carefully researched the benefits of a psychiatric service dog; one specifically trained to recognize a nightmare or flashback and gently bring Fred back from memory to reality.  A dog that would carry the medicines he sometimes forgets and remind him in response to a timer installed in its pack.  A dog that would turn on lights and check corners before he enters a room.  A dog that would be his constant companion and emotional support, a calm and loving presence in a frightening world.

Such a dog exists and Fred has completed the rigorous application process.  He has demonstrated his ability to follow training protocol and will commit to both initial and continuing education to become and remain an effective dog-handler team.  He has been examined and found to have both the need of and potential to benefit from a service animal.  There only thing that stands in his way is money.

It costs between $25,000 and $30,000 to raise and properly train a psychiatric service dog.  Thankfully, the agency that matches these extraordinary animals to those who need them absorbs most of the financial burden but, for an unemployable disabled veteran, the $5,000 co-pay might as well be $5 million. 

There is no dog in this story but, with your help, there can be.  What seems impossible to this family can be accomplished if we pull together as a community.  The readers of this column have demonstrated an incredible generosity by donating to save the lives of family pets.  Today, I am asking that you donate to save a family.  Let’s give this veteran more than a handshake to thank him for his service, let’s give him the tools necessary to rebuild his shattered life.

You may send donations to help Fred: The Ethel Fund Inc., PO Box 1231, Somerset PA 15501.  Please write “Service Dog” in the memo line of your check.