Vet Dogs

WASHINGTON - For more than 60 years, the Guide Dog Foundation has helped people with disabilities, including hundreds of men and women wounded in war.

The four-legged friends provide encouragement and independence.

Blinded in Vietnam, veteran Joe Link uses his fingers to read the names of fallen comrades etched in the wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

"I had a rocket-propelled grenade go off just right in front of me," Link recalls, "and the last thing I remember seeing was a flash."

Life after Vietnam had a slow start, but Joe says he really made great strides when a black Lab by the name of Nat began walking by his side.

Link said, "What that dog means to you if you're alone -- pardon me. If you're alone, and you need companionship, they're always there. We're together 24 hours a day. He's my friend. He's my trusted guide."

Nat's friendship with Link was made possible through the Guide Dog Foundation's VetDogs project.

And their help goes beyond veterans living with blindness.

Navy Corpsman HM3 Jose Ramos lost his left arm fighting the war on terror.

"They shot a rocket right at us, and I just happened to be the guy that took the brunt of the hit," Ramos said.

He now has a prosthetic bio-electric arm, along with the help of Striker.

Ramos said, "For me, he's a service dog. He helps me do things when my back is out."

"He's trained to carry ten pounds on each side," Ramos explained.

And if he drops something, like his keys, Striker is there to help.

"Get it. Hold. Good job, buddy," Ramos said.

The dogs also lend assistance in ways you can't see.

"I'm in a lot better mood," Army Sgt. Dennis Cline said. "There's a point in your life, where it's like, - especially in losing a limb - 'Well, what am I going to be able to do? How can I support my family?'"

Cline said, "I can be feeling down, and then I'll look at her, and she'll do something that's funny, or she'll just look at me with those big 'ole droopy eyes, and it's just like, 'Wow.'"

Another benefit of having a guide or service dog is that they're trained to obey only the voice of their owner. For example, I'm going to tell Cindy here to come here:

"Come here, Cindy." But she stays put.

But when Cline gives her the same command "Cindy, come," she obeys willingly.

Link said, "It's the difference in night and day."

The VetDogs program has given these veterans mobility, independence and dignity -- a new beginning in a world full of challenges.

The guide and service dogs are provided to veterans at no charge.