Member Log In

Pets for Patriots

Companion pet adoption for United States military veterans and service members

  • Adopt a pet
    • How it works
    • Veteran benefits
    • Program availability
    • Proof of service
    • Eligible pets
    • Pre-qual application
  • Be a veterinary partner
    • How it works
    • Benefits
    • Criteria & eligibility
    • Application
  • Be a shelter partner
    • How it works
    • Benefits
    • Eligible pets
    • Criteria & eligibility
    • Application
  • Donate Now
    • Donate online
    • Ways to give
    • Spread the word
  • More
    • About us
      • Vision
      • Mission
      • Our team
      • Board of Directors
      • Financial accountability
      • Year in review
      • Program availability
    • Making an impact
      • Forget Me Not
      • The Wet Nose Blog
      • Partner News
      • Donor News
      • Home at last
      • Welcome Home
      • Hotel to Home
    • Friends & Partners
      • Veterinarian partners
      • Shelter partners
      • Sponsors
      • Banfield
      • VIP Petcare
      • Community partners
    • Resources
      • Donor FAQ
      • Veteran FAQ
      • Shelter FAQ
      • Veterinarian FAQ
      • Other resources
    • Connect with us
      • In the news
      • Free wallpaper
      • Contact us
Wet Nose Blog
Home › Dog tales › Rescued Pit Bull returns the favor by saving disabled Navy veteran from depression

Rescued Pit Bull returns the favor by saving disabled Navy veteran from depression

July 23, 2013Dog tales, Mental health

Samantha

An adult rescued Pit Bull changed life for the better for a Navy veteran disabled by chronic pain and depression.

In the Navy and loving “every minute”

Growing up in California, John was a young man unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. He was a good student in high school and upon graduation enlisted in the Navy to give himself a few more years to figure out his future. He jokes that he chose the Navy because he had heard it had the best food and easiest work relative to other branches of the military. He was assigned to a troop carrier and served as a quartermaster, which at the time – the early 1970’s – involved navigating ships.

John loved “every minute” he spent in the Navy, mostly for the many travel opportunities it provided. After a deployment to Vietnam, his ship made stops in China, Hong Kong, Samoa, Australia and a number of South Pacific islands before returning to the United States. The Navy veteran’s favorite activity was “swim call,” when his ship stopped in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, and servicemen were allowed free time to swim in the open ocean.

The veteran enjoyed visits to Europe and South America during his Navy service. And true to what he had heard before enlisting, John declares that “the Navy always had the best food.”

For the love of Pit Bull

After his tour of duty, John became a long-distance truck driver and during the course of this 20-year career, logged over three million miles traversing the United States. As a young man, he was a single parent to two sons.

Having always had a dog or cat as a child and later as an adult, John acquired a Pit Bull when his sons were young. He fell in love with the breed, sometimes known as “nanny dogs” for their reputation as caretakers to young children. The family’s first Pit Bull was a very playful and fun family pet who got along with everyone, people and pets alike. The dog was protective of his children, yet gentle and playful with them at the same time. Samantha

John feels badly that over time Pit Bulls have become characterized as a “bully breed.” He believes that the reputation is unjust since the dogs were not bred originally to be mean, but “humans made them mean” through dogfighting, and irresponsible breeding and ownership.

John passed on his love for the breed to his sons, both of whom have Pit Bulls as family pets. In early 2012, John’s then six year-old granddaughter presented him with a Pit Bull puppy as a gift. He had the dog for only seven months when it was stolen from his yard.

A port in the storm helps make pet adoption an affordable reality

The Navy veteran was devastated by the loss of his only companion. He began searching nearby shelters to adopt another dog, but found that most adoption fees – sometimes over $100 – were too costly for him.

After two months of searching, John found Butterscotch, a four year-old stray Pit Bull, at the Meridian Valley Humane Society. When he asked about the cost to adopt her, the shelter staff told him that the adoption fee would be waived if John adopted the dog through Pets for Patriots, a national companion pet adoption program dedicated to pairing the most overlooked shelter pets – adults, large breed dogs and special needs animals – with veterans and active duty military.

Even though Superstorm Sandy put Pets for Patriots’ national headquarters out of commission for months, John’s application was approved promptly and he received a $150 contribution from the charity’s Veterans’ Pet Food Bank Program soon after bringing home Butterscotch. John and Samantha

Since adopting the dog and renaming her Samantha, John says his “life has improved by 100%.” Due to a work-related accident which ended his trucking career nearly 20 years ago, John suffers from depression and debilitating physical pain on a daily basis.

“Samantha has totally livened me up,” says John.

The big dog wakes up the Navy veteran every morning at 7:30 by licking his face.

“I have a purpose for getting out of bed every morning,” he says, “she has to be fed and taken out.”

John believes that both he and Samantha could stand to lose a little weight, so the Navy veteran tries to keep an active schedule, getting outside whenever the weather allows, walking and playing tug, catch or any other game Samantha wants to play.

The activity level at John’s house has ramped up even more since he recently added a cat to the family. Samantha and the cat play and even sleep together, but it’s the cat who rules the roost. As John observes, “the cat is the bully at my house!”

John urges anyone considering adopting a pet to do so through Pets for Patriots – as soon as possible.

“It’s the best thing you could ever do for yourself,” he says.

For anyone suffering from depression or a physical disability, John believes that “owning a pet is the best therapy anyone could have.”

Having found his four-legged therapist at a local shelter, John is a firm believer in pet adoption and wishes that every shelter animal finds a loving, forever home.

“Don’t forget,” the Navy veteran says, “ain’t nothing wrong with a pound dog.”

PreviousNext

4 comments

  1. Elizabeth says:
    July 26, 2013 at 1:33 pm

    We linked to your blog and quoted a small section of this post on our blog! Hope you don’t mind!

    1. Beth Zimmerman says:
      July 26, 2013 at 1:34 pm

      Not at all, Elizabeth; we love New Leash and appreciate the shout-out!

  2. Beth Zimmerman says:
    July 24, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    Thanks for your kind words, Greg, and for your volunteerism helping animals like Butterscotch/Samantha find their loving homes!

  3. Greg Harshman says:
    July 24, 2013 at 3:18 pm

    I volunteer at the Meridian Valley Humane Society and I remember Butterscotch Samantha and she was a real doll! I am so happy John and Samantha found each other. We are so lucky to have Pets for Patriots as a partner. What a truly wonderful program!

Comments are closed.

Join the Conversation

  • Cat tales
  • Dog tales
  • Hope for a home
  • Mental health
  • Extra
  • Pet training & health
  • Donor News


Give with Confidence

logo logo logo logo
Make a donation today
email-icon

Did you enjoy this story?
Don’t miss the next one.

Sign up for our newsletter and get stories like these directly in your inbox.


The Dodo and GEICO honor Pets for Patriots adoptions by sharing their heartwarming tales

WATCH THE VIDEOS

Petco Foundation

PetMeds Logo 300x250

Shop 1800PetMeds for all of your pet’s health needs and we’ll get 10% of your purchase!

Shop Bissell Today!

Shop BISSELL for your home cleaning needs and they will donate 10% of your purchase to us!

Join the Conversation

Stay Connected

Join the conversation, read recent adoption stories, view featured pets needing new homes and more.

Twitter

@petsforpatriots

Follow Us

Instagram

@petsforpatriots

Puppy mills are places of unspeakable cruelty. The Puppy mills are places of unspeakable cruelty. They exist solely because of greed and a callous disregard for the lives of animals.

Thanks to @bissellpets for sharing this informative graphic on how to spot a likely puppy mill. Please share in kind and - needless to say - always adopt, don't shop!

#adoptdontshop #endpuppymills #animalcruelty #animalcrueltyawareness #adoptionistheonlyoption #adoptashelterdog #adoptasheltercat #adoptashelterpet #rescueismyfavoritebreed
Maisie, Hawk, Mosley, Betty White, Annie, Sammy, T Maisie, Hawk, Mosley, Betty White, Annie, Sammy, Talahassee, Juju, Corn, and Pierogi - just some of the long term pets waiting way too long for a hero and a home. Meet all of our Forget Me Not pets and contact the shelters directly to inquire about adoption. Many are available for out-of-state placements; all are amazing creatures in desperate need of a loving home and all deserve no less.

Can't adopt? Share til it hurts!!

Click the link in our bio to meet them all.

#forgetmenot #weratedogs #weratecats #adoptdontshop #adoptashelterpet #adoptashelterdog #adoptasheltercat #cutedogs #cutedogsofinstagram #cutecats
Meet our recent "K" adopters, m'kay? * Kricket is Meet our recent "K" adopters, m'kay?

* Kricket is retired Navy and recently visited our partners @kitsaphumanesociety where she adopted not one, not two, but THREE petite pups! Reina pictured here is @petsforpatriots eligible, as is Remy (not pictured). But Kricket wasn't done saving lives because she threw yet another lifeline to Dior to round out her perfect petite pupper family! Thanks to @kitsaphumanesociety for giving our veterans 50% off adoption fees...anchors aweigh! 

* Konner served in the Air Force and together with his beautiful partner welcomed 4 year-old Hammer into their home. Formerly named Lucretia, Hammer is a beneficiary of our hero fund for veterinary care to help with the initial costs of prescriptions to ease pain from patellar luxation (a fancy way of saying: knee problems)! Another great fee-waived adoption through @dekalbanimals - part of the trio of @lifelineanimal shelters that participate in our program. 

Every animal saved from a shelter makes room for another animal in need to be rescued. It's estimated that only 25% of dogs and 29% of cats are adopted through shelters, numbers that are frankly pathetic. Please continue to advocate for adoption as the only option!

#adoptdontshop #adoptdontbuy #adoptashelterpet #adoptashelterdog #pitbulllove #loveabully #dontbullymybreed #cutepup #weratedogs #navyveteran #navy #airforceveteran #airforce #usaf #femaleveteran
The impacts of serving in the Gulf War left John w The impacts of serving in the Gulf War left John with crippling, severe anxiety. A spirited hound who needed a home would be just what the Army veteran needed to regain his life.

Click the link in our bio to read their tale, and thanks once again to @bmorehumane for another lifesaving match!

#army #armyveteran #milspouse #militaryspouse #ptsd #ptsdrecovery #ptsdawareness #anxiety #anxietyawareness #gulfwar #gulfwarveteran #petsforvets #houndsofinstagram #cutedogs #weratedogs #yourarenotalone
Clark retired from the Marines after more than 20 Clark retired from the Marines after more than 20 years of service to our nation. And in 2012 he was one of our early adopters - literally and figuratively - when he rescued then 2 year-old Ellie.

Ellie is now 13 and the pint-sized pup is still living large with Clark and his family, who recently gave us this heartfelt shoutout:

"Wanted to thank you for the many years of support your team has provided! It has helped out immensely over the years! Thank you all for what you have done and for what you continue to do."

Sounds like a mission accomplished to us!

Thanks to our partners @ranchocoastal - one of our earliest shelter partners - for this enduring match, and for continuing to waive adoption fees for veterans in our program.

#gotchadayanniversary #adoptdontshop #adoptashelterdog #adoptashelterpet #militaryfamily #usmcveteran #usmc #marinecorps #usmarines #usmarinecorps #petsforvets
Ahoy, mate! Noah retired from the Navy and just th Ahoy, mate! Noah retired from the Navy and just threw a lifeline to Kali, a stunning Cane Corso mix. This big, beautiful girl was in the care of our partners @norfolkanimals which gives veterans we serve 50% off adoption fees.

Click to the next photo to see their freedom ride pic!

#canecorsoofinstagram #canecorso #bigdogs #bigdogsofinstagram #bigdogstrong #adoptdontshop #adoptashelterpet #adoptashelterdog #weratedogs #navyveteran #navy #usn #usnavy #norfolkva
CJ is a disabled Marine veteran who finds joy in t CJ is a disabled Marine veteran who finds joy in the simple pleasures of life, including the addition of an older cat who joined her after the loss of a beloved pet.

Click the link in our bio to read their tale!

Thanks @sdhumanesociety for helping us make this purr-fect story possible and for waiving adoption fees for veterans in our program. ❤️

#sdhumanesociety #femaleveteran #usmcveteran #usmc #marinecorps #cats_of_instagram #cutecat #cutecats #cutecatsofinstagram #nalacat #adoptasheltercat #adoptaseniorpet #oldcatsofinstagram #oldcats #twoisbetterthanone
You know it's love when your new Marine Corps dad You know it's love when your new Marine Corps dad gives up his armchair for you. ❤️

Congratulations to nearly 9 year-old Holly Belle who's already made herself at home. She met Chuck through our partners @fredspca - which waives adoption fees for veterans we serve...oorah!

#olddogsrule #seniordogsofinstagram #adoptaseniordog #adoptaseniorpet #olddogsofinstagram #cutedogs #weratedogs #usmcveteran #usmc #marinecorps #iserved #iadopted #petsforvets
Wishing all of our Jewish friends around the world Wishing all of our Jewish friends around the world a sweet New Year, especially the men and women of the U.S. military who serve in all corners of the world in defense of our freedoms, including the freedom to practice (or not) the faith of our choosing.

L'shana tovah!

#lshanatova #lshanahtovah #roshhashana #roshhashanah #happynewyear #jewishnewyear #freedom #freedomofreligion #sweetnewyear
Follow Us

© 2023 Pets for Patriots, Inc. | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Contact us

email-icon

Let’s keep in touch.

Sign up for our newsletter to get recent adoption stories, featured pets needing new homes and more directly in your inbox.

email-icon

Let’s keep in touch.

Sign up for our newsletter to get recent adoption stories, featured pets needing new homes and more directly in your inbox.

email-icon

Let’s keep in touch.

Sign up for our newsletter to get recent adoption stories, featured pets needing new homes and more directly in your inbox.