The truly tragic side of this terrible illness is that, with proper help, it could be manageable. But the government doesn’t always care for these soldiers, and often, sadly, the soldiers themselves refuse to seek treatment for fear of appearing “weak”.

Enter Pets2Vets.

Dave Sharpe served in the U.S. Air Force. Returning home, he had trouble adjusting to civilian life and felt that he had no one to turn to – no one to share his experiences in Iraq with. This took his toll on him. Before he knew it, he had started displaying violent tendencies. He would wake up in the middle of the night and punch holes in walls or kick down the refrigerator.

A friend took him to an animal shelter and Dave took home a pit bull puppy named Cheyenne. When he next lost his temper and began his violent rampage, he looked over at the young dog staring at him trustingly and broke down.

“I froze, I put down my drink, I picked her up and laid with her in my bed,” he [Sharpe] said. “I cried and I told her the whole story. I didn’t feel judged.” (source)

Given the extraordinary love and support that Cheyenne gave him, Sharpe was inspired to reach out to his fellow vets. He started the organization Pets2Vets. Pets2Vets has the goal to raise awareness of PTSD and to arrange dog adoptions for veterans suffering form the disorder. With these new pets, the veterans have something outside themselves to focus on – a dependent that won’t judge them and will listen to every word said to them.

While family certainly is an important part of the healing process, so often the responsibilities of family can put pressure on the PTSD sufferer – even if that pressure is only imagined. The dogs provide that comfort needed without any strings attached. Just total  love and admiration.

Pets2Vets is still a fledgling operation, but David Sharpe has already seen results. He has hopes to continue to expand across the DC area and soon across the whole country. He also hopes to expand to encompass, not only war veterans, but police, firemen, rescue personnel, and any others who may have emotional trauma.

If you know anyone who may benefit from this organization, or just want more information about it, head over to the Pets2Vets website.

Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt cradles an injured Iraqi girl

This is so sweet, even though is has a tragically sad beginning. The young girl in the photo was shot in the head when insurgents attacked and executed her entire family. They intended her to die with her family, but somehow she survived. She was brought to the military hospital on the Balad Air Base, where she received care for her injuries. John Gebhardt is with the McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, and was at the time stationed in Balad. According to his wife, he has always has a tender place for children, so when the little girl had trouble sleeping and needed a comforting shoulder, John was there for her. The nurses said he was the only one who could get her calmed down enough for her to get her much needed rest.

We are most lucky to have men like John serving in the military.

Jessica and Colton Read

When we go to the doctor, we place our utmost trust in them. We expect them to try their best to help with whatever problem it is that brought us to their service. So when a doctor ends up causing even more damage than the original diagnosis, our trust is severely shaken.

Such is the case with Colton Read. He was scheduled for surgery at David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base for a routine operation – he needed to have his gall-bladder removed. But what should have been a routine surgery turned into a nightmare when the surgeon cut his aortic artery.

Jessica Read says around 10 a.m., about an hour into the procedure, “A nurse runs out, ‘We need blood now,’ and she rounds the corner and my gut feelings is, ‘Oh my God, is that my husband?’”

She says his Air Force general surgeon mistakenly cut her husband’s aortic artery, but waited hours to transport him to a state hospital which has a vascular surgeon. “It took them until 5:30 to get him to UC Davis. I don’t understand.” (source)

Due to the surgeon’s negligence, the tremendous  loss of blood resulted in him losing both legs.

His mother sobbed, “I watched him take his first steps, and now his legs are gone.”

Despite the fact that this entire tragedy rest solely on the military surgeon’s shoulder, the family is unable to sue for damages. Why?? Because of on old federal law called the Feres Doctrine. Leave it to the government to protect themselves from their own mistakes. This is what is called an “outrage”. This man served country, and when they screw up this horrifically, they do nothing to help him.

For now, Read’s wife says the military may place him on medical retirement, in which he’ll likely receive less than half his $1600 monthly salary. “I can’t understand why they won’t help him when they did this to him.”

It’s not right. And the kicker? He still hasn’t gotten the gall-bladder removed.

Talk about being an incredibly skilled pilot. Overall, Shomo flew over 200 missions in the war. Click here to read more details regarding his epic flight.