{"id":13799,"date":"2021-12-26T15:01:12","date_gmt":"2021-12-26T15:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/26\/service-dogs-help-iowa-veterans-first-responders\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:41:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:41:39","slug":"service-dogs-help-iowa-veterans-first-responders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2021\/12\/26\/service-dogs-help-iowa-veterans-first-responders\/","title":{"rendered":"Service dogs help Iowa veterans, first responders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DUBUQUE, Iowa \u2014 Steve Vincent glanced down at the dog standing patiently beside his chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGet it,\u201d he commanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doc, a 2-year-old yellow Lab, immediately picked up the leash that Vincent had dropped, returning it to his owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThank you,\u201d responded Vincent, a resident of Maquoketa, Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearby, Garland Shirley patted his own dog, Smitty, who lay quietly at his side. Like Doc, Smitty sported a black vest proclaiming his status as a service dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent and Shirley were paired with Doc and Smitty through IOWA (Inspiring Our Warriors of America) Service Dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraphherald.com\/news\/tri-state\/article_96e67582-dabe-5219-a1ec-baae53fe4370.html\">Dubuque Telegraph Herald<\/a> reports the nonprofit, launched in 2019, provides mobility and psychiatric service dogs to first responders and veterans at no cost. Shirley and Vincent are the first two \u201cwarriors\u201d to graduate the program with their canine companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese individuals went out and served for us, whether for our country or for a community, and they\u2019ve seen a lot and done a lot for us,\u201d said Jamie Fisher, executive director of IOWA Service Dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent served in the Army for 31 years, including two deployments to Iraq between 2003 and 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During his first deployment, he sustained a substantial head injury during an explosion, an injury that went untreated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were told that if you weren\u2019t dead or shot, you keep on working, so that\u2019s what I did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent was medically retired and honorably discharged in 2012. However, he struggled upon his return to civilian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in addition to his brain injury, he became anxious in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2020\/01\/02\/is-adopting-a-service-dog-right-for-you-what-veterans-diagnosed-with-ptsd-need-to-know\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635968293066096080-ptsd-dog-study-mart-1-jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Is adopting a service dog right for you? What veterans diagnosed with PTSD need to know<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">While there are multiple options one could choose for PTSD treatment, nonprofit organizations like K9s for Warriors and Southeastern Guide Dogs have championed a treatment method that veterans can\u2019t receive directly from the VA: service dogs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt had been a year since I got back, and I never left the house,\u201d he said. &#8221; \u2026 I don\u2019t like people getting behind me and touching me. It\u2019s like I turn around and go back into combat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being matched with his first service dog, Dee, in 2013 offered Vincent a new lease on life. She kept him calm, gave him someone to talk to and provided comfort in tense or emotional situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After eight years of service, however, Dee was ready for retirement. So, Vincent\u2019s wife, Julie, helped him apply for a new service dog through IOWA Service Dogs \u2014 and Doc entered the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For his part, Shirley served as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Des Moines for four years. In 2007, while performing ice water training, he aspirated ice water into his lungs that caused severe scarring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Due to the injury, he was forced to medically retire in 2009 and, following years of treatments, received a bilateral lung transplant in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following his career as a first responder, Shirley pursued his passion for coaching softball and has served as Clarke University\u2019s head softball coach since 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea of a service dog never crossed his mind until a change in medication last fall caused chronic lung rejection. Doctors were able to halt the rejection but could not reverse the damage, and Shirley\u2019s breathing became more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe had a couple times where, for example, I was mowing, and it got to the point where I couldn\u2019t breathe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a suggestion from his fiancee, Angie McGuire, Shirley applied for a dog through IOWA Service Dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, Smitty can recognize when Shirley is short of breath and can bring help or an oxygen tank if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is a different role than the one Doc plays for Vincent, but an equally important one, according to Vincent\u2019s wife, Julie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s invisible wounds here in both of these guys,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shirley and Vincent were selected to receive service dogs after completing multiple applications and months of training with IOWA Service Dogs. They learned about dog behaviors and body language, laws surrounding service dogs and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe trained so much, I got tired of it. That\u2019s how I knew it was good,\u201d said Shirley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fisher said the nonprofit\u2019s dogs come from select breeders and must pass health and aptitude testing. When considering health care, food, training and supplies, each dog costs IOWA Service Dogs about $20,000 to prepare for service life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doc and Smitty spent two years working with volunteer guardians and trainers, with Shirley and Vincent joining them for classes in the final six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men continue the dogs\u2019 training with daily practice of the commands, and coordinators from IOWA Service Dogs will check in with them regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both men emphasized the depth of the dogs\u2019 training and the discipline required to serve their owner on an almost-constant basis. They said it is that intense instruction that sets dogs like Doc and Smitty apart from emotional support animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese dogs work from the time they\u2019re puppies until they retire,\u201d Vincent said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IOWA (Inspiring Our Warriors of America) Service Dogs provides mobility and psychiatric service dogs to first responders and veterans at no cost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":29622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,24,89,16,26,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4931],"class_list":["post-13799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IG4SFHVJJNCONEQLELLNOMFNMU","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2021\/12\/26\/service-dogs-help-iowa-veterans-first-responders\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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