{"id":7705,"date":"2025-12-21T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7705"},"modified":"2025-12-21T19:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T19:30:00","slug":"veteran-and-wounded-dog-found-healing-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7705","title":{"rendered":"Veteran and wounded dog found healing together"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-12-21T19:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

A bond forged in service<\/h2>\n

At 63, recently widowed Army Veteran Lee Thomas was navigating the heavy burden of medical and mental health challenges. From neck and shoulder injuries to third-degree frostbite and PTSD, he had endured much. After losing his wife to cancer, he felt completely alone.<\/p>\n

Though he had built strong bonds with his clinical team at the Tuscaloosa VA <\/a>and stayed in touch with his many grandchildren, the sense of isolation lingered. At times, he felt like giving up.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>
Army Veteran Lee Thomas <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

That changed during a routine visit when he noticed another Veteran accompanied by a service dog. A simple conversation with his Care Coordination and Integrated Case Management social worker, Catherine Register, opened a new door\u2014perhaps a companion like that could help him, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore my wife died, she said I needed to get a dog,\u201d shared Thomas. With Register\u2019s help, he applied to a nonprofit organization that connects Veterans with service dogs. At first, the news was disheartening: no trained dogs were available\u2014only puppies.<\/p>\n

The call<\/h2>\n

Then came an unexpected call. The agency had just taken in an older dog\u2014a fellow Veteran, in a way\u2014who had served in the military and, like Thomas, had been wounded in the line of duty. The dog had been shot in the ear and faced ongoing medical issues. The agency gave Thomas time to consider, knowing the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n

The more he thought about it, the more he felt a connection. He decided to adopt the dog\u2014a fellow Army Veteran.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy house felt so lonely when my wife passed,\u201d said Thomas, who named the dog Patton after General George S. Patton. \u201cBut now that I have Patton with me, I know my wife is watching us from above, happy that I have a companion.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he called back to say he wanted the dog, the agency was thrilled. He\u2019s only had Patton in his home for about two weeks, but already says the dog makes him feel like a big kid again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed each other,\u201d he said. \u201cHe got hurt serving, and so did I. Maybe we\u2019re a perfect match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healing together<\/h2>\n

Thanks to the compassionate support of the Tuscaloosa VA mental health care team, Thomas and his new companion are walking the path of healing\u2014together.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, having someone at VA who was there to listen, support me and keep me connected with the services I needed helped me begin to feel more confident that I could heal and have hope,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never too late to apply for VA health care you\u2019ve earned. If you are a Veteran or know a Veteran who has not yet applied for their VA health care benefits, learn how to\u202fget started<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A heartwarming story about how one Veteran and his Veteran dog are healing together, learning to heal physical and mental wounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"\nVeteran and wounded dog found healing together - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A heartwarming story about how one Veteran and his Veteran dog are healing together, learning to heal physical and mental wounds.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veteran and wounded dog found healing together - 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