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Service Protection Dogs For World Peace Helps a Local North Carolina Veteran

By: PRLog
SPDWP launches a campaign to help local Fayetteville, NC resident and Veteran James Morton acquire funding for his service dog training
PRLog - Jan. 22, 2014 - FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- United States Army Veterans James and Jennifer Morton reside in Fayetteville, NC with their children, Jimmy and Emily.  James Morton who is 40 years old served our country for over 18 years. The Mortons met and fell in love in 2004 while living at Fort Bragg.  During his military service James was deployed for  2 tours in Iraq, he was stationed in Alaska and when he was medically retired in 2012 they moved back to their roots and their hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Jennifer is a part-time radiation therapy student and James full time caregiver.  James was medically discharged and lives with crippling PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and physical ailments resulting from endless jumps from airplanes while serving in the 82nd Airborne.  During a deployment to Iraq in 2007 he received a message from the Red Cross that his mother had passed away from cancer. He was flown home for the funeral and immediately sent back to combat.  Losing many of his brothers and sisters in service to IED blasts and combat have lent to James PTSD.  His symptoms include paranoia which leads to temporary agoraphobia, sleepless nights filled with flashbacks and terror nightmares of his combat experiences.  It is difficult for James to be in a situation where there are crowds.

After researching alternative treatments for PTSD, Jennifer went on her own mission to find a service dog for James.  Jennifer reached out to www.serviceprotectiondogs.org a nonprofit arm of www.gatorlandk9.com a training facility for K9, Military and Service Protection Animals.  The nonprofit organization is working with the Mortons to help them fully fund the continued training of a German Shepherd service puppy that was furnished by them to James Morton.  Typically the dogs are not presented to the Veterans until the funding is complete but they felt that James would benefit from the therapeutic bonding that comes with raising his service puppy “Kira.”

Kira and James have completed puppy training.  The funding raised will be used to bring James and Kira back down to Florida for Service dog and handler training in late spring or summer when Kira is fully grown and physically developed.

James is already benefitting from having Kira by his side.  He is sleeping more soundly and Jennifer Morton says “I notice Kira already working on my husband’s behalf.  When we do go out which is not frequently, she circles around James to help him feel secure.”  He still wakes at night with nightmares but with Kira by his side his recovery time is shortened.  We are looking forward to the day when James can navigate leaving the home on his own and furthering his training with www.serviceprotectiondogs.org.”

We are asking the community to help us with our fundraising endeavors, so that we may fully reach our fundraising goals of $20,000.00 by the summer.  An online crowd funding campaign has been launched and has raised over $2,000.00 but we need more financial support.  If you are able to help this family reach their fundraising goals by donating, or hosting an event, please contact jill@serviceprotectiondogs.org or gatorlandk9pr@gmail.com.

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