Meet Meraki and Barley the service dog!
The Shelter to Soldier team adopted Barley from our good friends at Wags & Walks Animal Rescue out of Los Angeles, CA, under the generous Red Star sponsorship of Mollie Carter and Kevin Mignonga!
Meraki is a United States Marine Corps Veteran who bravely served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2016-2017. Her deployment led to Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), night terrors, and a sense of distrust in other people.
During her program, Meraki worked diligently with Barley on a weekly basis and ended her sessions by giving Barley plenty of belly rubs and cuddles. Having him around allowed her to strengthen her confidence in public settings and help her ease symptoms of PTS. Barley was truly made for this job, and we know he will always have her back!
Barley and his mom graduated with us in a touching graduation ceremony on May 24th, 2023. Since transitioning together as a team, both Meraki & Barley have been thriving and providing comfort for each other in Los Angeles, while maintaining their ongoing training journey with our team.
Other Success Stories
-
Ben + Tank
San Diego, CA
Tank came into our program in June 2014 through the sponsorship of The Wintercreek Foundation. Ben applied to our program in the Spring of 2015, and was perhaps one of our most driven applicants.
-
James + Calver
San Diego, CA
Calver is a 3 year-old, male standard schnauzer. His dad, James, applied to Shelter to Soldier™ and was approved to be a recipient due to his diagnosis of TBI (traumatic brain injury) and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
-
Vic + Kira
San Diego, CA
Kira is a loving 4 year old female labrador/pit mix. She was rescued just in time to allow her the opportunity to live a happy, loving and purposeful life.