Heroes
On Your Last Day
Freedom Dog
Peggy Poore was that kind of bank teller ; the one that smiles , makes eye contact , says “ hello ,” and finds common ground with the human on the other side of the glass . In 2010 , a customer handed her a check and Peggy noticed two words that would change her life . “ Freedom Dogs ?” she asked . Peggy had been breeding Labrador Retrievers since 1988 , so the word ‘ dog ’, caught her attention .
“ Tell me more ,” she said to the customer , who turned out to be Sharon Root , Freedom Dogs ’ treasurer . Sharon told Peggy about Freedom Dogs , a San Diego-based 501 ( c )
( 3 ) nonprofit organization that uses trained service dogs to help active and veteran members of the military suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and / or physical trauma to transition back to civilian life . “ Dogs and the military … I fell in love immediately ,” she shared . “ I was all in .” Today , Peggy is the organization ’ s Lead Trainer . She currently has under her tutelage four members of the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton ; one veteran of the war in Afghanistan ; and one Vietnam Veteran . Each is paired with a companion dog , and their individual trainers .
Starting at 8 weeks old , the Freedom Dogs live with their trainer and come to the Freedom Dogs Training Facility in Oceanside weekly to attend classes , where , in addition
28 GBSAN . COM | OCTOBER 2022