I've asked a friend of mine, RH, to give me some info on Semper Fido, the charity I'm trying to raise money for with my Ironman (which is in A MONTH!!! <--- panic setting in...now.) and he was kind enough to send the following info.
Quick background on this; RH was injured in Afghanistan in 2011. I don't want to go into his injuries, but they were fairly significant and he had a time adjusting to life on the other side of the injury.
"So, I went up to NJ, around McGuire AFB, to meet [my friends] DH and JN for something, I don’t remember [what it was] now. JN had his service dog, Nona, out with him, and we talked about how she had helped him and about life with a service dog. He asked if I was interested, I told him I was. So, I started the application process with Semper Fido, out of Marlton, NJ. I got approved. Basically, I needed a doctor’s note and prescription, that said a service dog would benefit me.
"I was looking not only for a companion type animal to help out with the TBI/PTSD issues, but also to help out with my loss of vision in my right side. Definitely helps when navigating through crowds and keeping me from running into things on that side. I first met [my dog] Chase in February and we hit it off immediately. Because of medical stuff and surgeries, I didn’t start the training until late May 2013, and finished up the beginning of July 2013. Our first trip was to the White House for the 4th of July with my kids.
"The training was very easy for both of us, we clicked and it seemed natural for him to take commands from me and we quickly bonded. Chase has not only been a service dog, he’s been a best friend, a companion, a reason to get up and take care of someone other than me when I don’t feel like it. It’s been great because he is always upbeat and happy, loves to go out and it forces me to be more social as well. I feel I got so much more than just a medical assistance service animal."
The fact that Chase was a rescue (someone actually got rid of this dog, which is where Semper Fido came in) just blows RH away. His companion and friend was someone else's "throw away" dog. Life for both of them now seems to just be more and more awesome.
Really I can't think of a better reason to support an organization than this. Please donate to this awesome organization--I'll do the hard work for this charity Ironman, I promise!! ;)
http://www.semperfido.org/donate.htm
