Veteran goes before service companion

get the medical and psychiatric care he needed in the military.

The Picards love Tuesday and will care for him for the rest of his life. He is in robust good health, traveling with Ms. Picard to continue the educational campaign started by Mr. Montalvan.

The subtitle of “Tuesday’s Promise,” published May 9 by Hachette Books, is “One Veteran, One Dog, and Their Bold Quest to Change Lives.” Journalist Ellis Henican co-authored the book, which was finished prior to Mr. Montalvan’s death.

This book is the sequel to the 2011 New York Times best-seller “Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him.”

Tuesday and Mr. Montalvan visited Pittsburgh at least four times. More than 300 people welcomed them with acclaim when Mr. Montalvan spoke at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair in October 2013. Mr. Montalvan was charming, charasmatic, intelligent and witty. His beautiful dog wagged his tale and gazed with adoring eyes at everyone in the audience.

Although Tuesday wore a collar that says “Do not pet,” Mr. Montalvan allowed Tuesday to be petted and hugged by every person in the audience.

In the first half of the new book, Mr. Montalvan is upbeat as he shares stories about the many veterans that he and Tuesday have helped over the years. Some of the more touching moments involve taking Tuesday to schools to read his two books for children: “Tuesday Tucks Me In” and “Tuesday Takes Me There.”

Mr. Montalvan loved children, although he did not have any of his own. Ms. Picard said he told her reading to children “puts me back in touch with the kid in me.”

For friends like Ms. Picard, the book’s second half is hard to read. Last year was difficult and painful, starting with the above-theknee amputation of his right leg and two months in a wheelchair waiting for what he called his “stump” to heal. There was painful physical therapy, learning to walk with a prosthetic leg. A second surgery and rehab in Australia kept him apart from Tuesday for 10 weeks.

“In retrospect, there are ‘tells’ in the book” that indicate Mr. Montalvan was struggling, Ms. Picard said.

He was clearly worried about life without Tuesday. He and Ms. Picard made plans for what they call the “successor dog.” From a litter of golden retrievers born July 27, 2016, Ms. Picard had picked a female to train for Mr. Montalvan. He named her Promise, and he was promised he could be involved during the two-year training process.

Tuesday and Promise would work together for a while.

“Tuesday will segue from being my service dog to being more of a therapy dog,” Mr. Montalvan wrote in the book. “Until one day, hopefully far off into the future, he reaches the place that animal lovers call the Rainbow Bridge.”

The 10 weeks apart, when Mr. Montalvan was in Australia, were difficult for Tuesday, Ms. Picard said. Mr. Montalvan went for state-of-the-art surgery that was supposed to improve his mobility by giving a better and more pain-free “fit” for his prosthetic leg. Tuesday didn’t go because his partner wasn’t able to take care of him while recovering from surgery.

“It took two days for Tuesday to stop going to the door to look for Luis,” Ms. Picard said. “When he would hear Luis’ voice on a video, he would begin searching.”

Mr. Montalvan made his last trip to Texas for more rehab. “He didn’t take Tuesday because he was not physically strong enough to take care of Tuesday,” Ms. Picard said.

“I don’t think Tuesday knows that Luis is dead,” Ms. Picard said.

Mr. Montalvan’s suicide lends weight to his contention that PTSD cannot be cured. It can only be contained, and service dogs can ease the pain.

Before Tuesday, Mr. Montalvan could seldom leave his Manhattan apartment. With Tuesday at his side, Mr. Montalvan earned a master’s degree from Columbia University, wrote four books and traveled the country to help other people.

In “Tuesday’s Promise,” Mr. Montalvan doesn’t ask for anything, but he wanted more veterans to experience the healing powers of service dogs.I’m sure he’d appreciate contributions made in Tuesday’s name to the organization that trained him. Make checks payable to ECAD and mail to PO Box 831, Torrington,CT 06790.

Or support an organization closer to home, including Life Changing Service Dogs for Veterans. Make checks out to Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs and mail to Veterans Cable Service, 150 Hillside Drive, Bethel Park, PA 15102.

During his eight years with Tuesday, Mr. Montalvan’s life was a life welllived. Rest in peace, Captain, and thank you for your service.