Amy Wallace has made many mistakes in her young life. With no family close-by she gets involved with drugs and shoplifting and finds herself arrested and sentenced to a term in prison. Young and frightened, she knows that she must pay restitution for her past actions and try to turn her life around. Because of her good behavior she qualifies for a prison program of training service dogs for returning veterans. Hesitant at first, she accepts entry into the program.
Chris Seger, wounded while serving his country in Afghanistan, returns to the states to begin therapy not only for his physical injuries but for PTSD. He finds a job mowing the grounds at a local golf course. Back and forth on the mower he goes to forget his troubles; however, he continues to struggle with nightmares and flashbacks of his time in service. He is given a recommendation that a service dog may help with his disabilities.
Finley is a rejected golden retriever. His owner was another marine who was killed in Afghanistan. The marine’s mother is unable to continue taking care of Finely and leaves him at a shelter. Finley is severely depressed and not very responsive to anyone, but the manager at the shelter sees something in him that encourages her to place him in the service dog training program at the prison.
The story details how service dogs are selected, trained and paired with a veteran. It also gives us an understanding of veterans who are struggling with various disabilities and why we should express appreciation to all veterans for their service to their country. May I suggest having a box of Kleenexes close by when reading.
2015 Copyright 309 Pages
