Stewie's Story

Here is the story of our newest family, Stewie! He is a Boston Terrie/French Bulldog mix. He is a year old and weighs 20 pounds. He has been very well trained and is very gentle mannered. Stewie was rescued from a shelter by an organization call Project Pooch. Project Pooch is based out of MacLarnen Youth Correction Facility. The inmates train the rescued dog and prepare the dogs for adoption (more info at pooch.org) Our kiddos enjoy saying that we got our dog from jail. We met Stewie a week ago and fell in love with him immediately  We believe he fell in love with us also. The other cool thing about all this is another organization called Vets Adopt a Pet. This organization is such a blessing to us. They pay for the adoption of a rescued pet for veterans as a companion pets. It is their way of saying "Thank you for your service."

Stewie is going to be our family dog, but mostly a companion pet for Joe. Companion pets help veterans with the after effects of war and service, For Joe it is helping heal his PTSD. PTSD is an ugly monster that effects so many soldiers. Some deny they have it which is dangerous if it continues to be untreated. Joe isn't afraid to ask for help while dealing with PTSD. I am so proud of him for getting help which helps our family as well. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of Jonathan Stehle's death. Stehle died November 8th 2002 in a army training accident. Then less then 6 months later he and the rest of 1/1 Cav deployed to Iraq for a 15 month deployment. Things happened there that also changed Joe. Now almost 10 years later and we are still dealing with the trauma. This year seems like the hardest one yet and that is why we believe that Stewie came into our lives for a reason. Stewie has brought Joe so much joy. They are still getting to know each other, and it so fun to watch them together. Joe can talk to Stewie about anything and he won't talk back. Seeing the two of them together bring me so much joy. Thank you to everyone who made this adoption possible. We are truly blessed to have this little guy in our lives!!