Dogs and Soldiers Help Each Other

Once again our canine pals are helping us and we're giving them a whole new lease on life. A new VA program is adopting shelter dogs and training them to assist our wounded soldiers coming home from Iraq.

Some soldiers need help with the laundry, taking off their socks, getting out of bed or just some unconditional love. It's been shown time and time again how our canine companions help us with stress (petting a dog lowers blood pressure), protect us from would be attackers and lead us down the street when we can't see. My hat is off, once again, to our beloved dogs.

It costs about $23,000 to train a service dog, but if they can help a wounded soldier heal from their battle scars, this is simply a drop in the bucket. What would you pay to help someone you love get back to themselves?

Too many of our soldiers are arriving back in the States disabled physically and psychologically. I've personally experienced what battle stress does to someone. They become a different person. A shell of what they were once upon a time. Even if you don't believe in or support the war, believe in the soldiers who have been in the desert that's laden with fleas, has giant sci-fi type sand spiders and people who live to kill you.

If you would like to donate $1, $5 or $100, visit Freedom Service Dogs. You can also visit this MSNBC site for more information. Everything makes a difference.

Dogs and Soldiers Help Each Other