Vet-well gift for holidays
Dogs comfort ex-Viet warriors
Vietnam veteran Larry Keating is poised to celebrate 41 years clean and sober, with a master’s degree in social work and decades devoted to helping his fellow soldiers. And he’s still not completely healed.
On Tuesday, the 70-yearold ex-Army sergeant joined fellow ’Nam survivor Bill Thumm in collecting a combination Christmas and get-well gift: A brand-new service dog to help the oldtimers deal with demons still lingering a half-century burning down the road.
“I’m hoping my dog helps me with my depression,” said Thumm after greeting his new four-legged pal Lydia at the Paws of War center in Smithtown, L.I. “I’ve been in therapy, and the Veterans [Affairs] has helped me. But there’s always been something missing.”
The Paws of War trains dogs to help veterans afflicted by posttraumatic stress disorder. The group solicits donations for its work, which can run as high as $20,000 to train each dog, and the service animals are provided to the veterans free of charge.
“For people to recover, support is needed,” Keating said Tuesday before meeting Midnight, his new black Labrador. “And the support you see here today — these service dogs are incredible. I didn’t get the help I needed, and because of that I lived in isolation.”
Keating, of New Hyde Park, L.I., was just 17 when deployed to Southeast Asia, and returned as a 19-yearold sergeant struggling with PTSD. He later overcame alcoholism and drug addiction, yet at age 70 still suffers from night tremors and problems sleeping.
“Midnight will be his best pal,” predicted Keating’s wife Diana, 68. “I met her for the first time last week, and she’s such a sweetie. When I see him with her, the stress leaves his face. They need each other, and [Midnight] knows it.”
The dogs went home to share Christmas Eve with their new owners, although the pets and their vets will attend weekly training classes until the puppies complete their basic training. The whole thing takes about two years.
The cost for prepping the two dogs was covered by the Unsung Siblings Foundation of Queens, founded by Daniel Ryan to honor his own Army veteran brother.
“My brother had a dog, and it’s what gave him the most peace,” explained Ryan, 51. “Having a pet like that, having that bond, is so special. Seeing these veterans’ reactions, it really does change their life.”
Thumm, born and raised in College Point, Queens, said the arrival of his grandchildren convinced him to try the Paws program.
“I need to be there for them, and I need something to help me with that,” he explained after meeting his service dog, Lydia. “Sometimes I want to wallow in my pain.”