Service dog and training provided by Operation Freedom Paws.

“Having Rocky really changed my existence. I was never able to sleep soundly because I was always on duty, always on guard. When Rocky came into the house, I was at ease because Rocky was on duty. It was real clear. That took a psychological load off me, like with my anger management and road rage. I see people doing something stupid and I just rage. But it was more than that, it was this anger from my experience from Vietnam.

“I was driving somewhere with Rocky–he rides with me in the back seat–he starts licking the back of my neck. What’s this about. So, I stopped and thought about it and understood that I was getting worked up over some stunt somebody did. So I calmed down. He did that for quite awhile until he trained me out of road rage. I get a nice wet tongue up the back of my neck. That’ll really wake you up. That’s just the kind of thing I need from him.”

-Michael Blackman