Army vet surprised with service dog at Naperville Veterans Day event
Tuesday was a Veterans Day one local hero will be sure to remember. When U.S. Army veteran Jim Hertz went to a Veterans Day event in Naperville, he had no idea that he was about to be given a very special and life-changing gift.
For the past four months, Hertz has been under the impression he's been training an 8-month-old pitbull named Rossy to be a service dog for another veteran. His wife was unsure about giving her up.
"I was like, when he wanted to do it and help out, I was like, OK, but the kids are going to love her, but this is wonderful. They're going to be so excited," said Megan Hertz.
Hertz is a part of K9s for Veterans, a nonprofit organization that trains and provides service dogs to veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury or TBI. They get the dogs from high-risk shelters and then the American Warrior Initiative reaches out to them to see who's in need of a dog.
The veterans train with the dog every day, forming a bond with them.
"That dog goes everywhere with the veteran. That dog always has that veteran's back. He's never alone. That's his battle buddy," said Michael Tellerio, K9s for Veterans president and CEO.
Hertz thought he was going to have to give Rossy up, but he was surprised Tuesday with the news that he gets to keep her. She has helped him immensely with his anxiety.
"A room like this is pretty stressful for me right now," he said. "The whole bunch of people behind me, not really what I would put myself in by myself. Rossy's a big help, for sure."
American Warrior Initiative said for the past six years they've helped 430 veterans across the country by matching them with a canine family member. Each dog costs $15,000. They've raised more than $6 million.
"The people of Fairway Home Mortgage give almost a million dollars a year just through payroll deduction," said Lousie Thaxton, American Warrior Initiative CEO. "Sometimes it's like that auto-deduct. I'm just going to give. I'm going to set it up and I'm going to give."
Hertz said he and Rossy both have anxiety issues. Now they can work on that together for a long time.
"I'm trying to get her get used to other people, other dogs as well. We still have a long ways to go. Just looking forward to what that looks like," he said.
American Warrior Initiative said they're providing another veteran with another service dog on Wednesday.