James + Tyberius

Ty was an owner surrender that had a loving foster family after tragically losing his Mom. Jagger & Kristi at Magic 92.5 were working on helping Ty and his mom before she passed away and reached out to our founder, Graham Bloem, to help Ty. When his mom, Laurie, passed, Graham, Jagger and Kristi were connected to Ty and wanted to continue to support him and his foster family. Our friends at Cafe Coyote San Diego stepped up and sponsored Ty’s in-home training to help him through this tough time. During the training, Graham realized that Ty had so much potential and he really needed a job and a purpose. His foster family agreed. They adopted Ty to our Shelter to Soldier™ program to give him the job and purpose from which they knew he would thrive. Once Ty was a part of the STS family, Cafe Coyote and Jagger & Kristi from Magic 92.5 helped us secure the additional funds that were needed to have Ty complete our program. Ty had some ups and downs, which was to be expected, but he has a heart of gold and a desire to please that took him through our program like a champ. We matched Ty with an amazing young man, a deserving combat veteran named James Norvell. James and Ty fell in love with each other in less than 5 minutes and once James completed his handling training and graduated our program, he was able to take Ty home.

James suffered a brain injury while deployed when an IED (improvised explosive device) went off feet from his humvee. In addition to James’ brain injury from this blast, he lost a marine corps brother in that attack. He has seen and been through more than many of us could imagine, and his diagnosis of TBI and PTSD led to his medical retirement from the United States Marine Corp. James knew he loved dogs and he and his family knew that he would need support to adjust to life at home again after what he had been through. James and Ty are now a team. They have formed a partnership that the two of them understand and appreciate more than anyone can describe. Corporal James Norvell is not just a veteran to us. He is a friend, a fellow dog lover and a spokesperson for STS from time to time. He is always wanting to help other veterans because he says he feels so lucky and blessed that he found STS and Ty.

Graduation coverage thanks to Fox5 News