Service Dog Is a Perfect Partner for Scott

When Scott Reichert and his dog Chloe return home from walks or running errands, Scott immediately takes her off her leash and tells her, “Search.” She diligently goes through each room, checking to ensure that everything is okay before returning to the front door, where he waits. Scott, an Army veteran, suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and this ritual helps ease his anxiety and hyper-vigilance. The pair is in training to become a service dog team.

Although Chloe is not yet a certified service dog, she is quickly making a positive impact. “I see a difference in him already,” said John Lenz, Scott’s Operation TBI Freedom care coordinator. Scott has a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that causes memory problems, and he suffers from nightmares due to his PTSD. Since bringing Chloe home, however, his nightmares have been greatly reduced. “When she senses I’m having a nightmare, she’ll put her paws on my chest or shoulders and start licking my face until I wake up,” he explained. “I get better sleep with her there.”

He also has back problems that force him to walk with a cane and make bending over or getting up from the floor difficult. Like many injured veterans, Scott was reluctant to ask for help despite his difficulties. “I don’t want to ask for help from people, so I’d end up hurting myself,” he shared. Having a service dog like Chloe gives him more independence, while also providing assistance. “That’s her job to help me; I can rely on her and use her.” If he drops something like his cane or keys, she can pick it up for him, or if he is on the floor, he can use her to pull himself back up.

Scott had been eager to get a service dog and had applied to an organization for a pre-trained dog. “I was telling him to be patient so that he could get the right dog, but it was going to be a long process—a year to a year-and-a-half wait,” John explained. When John heard about a new organization, Daffron Doghouse that worked with injured veterans to help them train their own dog to become a certified service animal, Scott jumped at the opportunity.

Chuck Daffron, who founded the Daffron Doghouse organization with his wife, Kate, is also an Operation TBI Freedom client and wanted to help fellow veterans in the program. Chuck and Kate immediately began searching for the right dog for Scott, one with a good temperament that could be comfortable around his 8-year-old son, Zack. When Scott first met Chloe, she immediately came up to him and licked him in the face. “I couldn’t argue with that,” Scott laughed, so Chloe became his service dog in training. It was the beginning of a partnership that will open new doors for Scott to a better, more active life.

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Learn more about Daffron Doghouse.