Locals Team Up To Get Service Dog For Veteran

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – A Gulf War veteran who battles PTSD and other service related illnesses gets a service dog, because of several Northeast Mississippi residents.

It didn’t take long for Paul Gregg to start bonding with Quincy.

“I can’t even put it into words, it’s unbelievable,” Gregg said.

The 50 year old Jacksonville Florida resident served with the U S Air Force in Desert Storm and Desert Shield.  He suffers from a number of physical ailments related to his exposure to nerve agents during the war.  Gregg also has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  He has tried to get a service dog through the VA, but was unsuccessful.

“There’s a lot of red tape, sometimes it takes awhile,it has gotten better, but still, we have to help each other,” said Dana Soper, who is also an air force veteran and lives in Northeast Mississippi.

He found out that the new owners of Tupelo’s K-9 Training Center were training a German Shepherd , donated by an Alabama family, as a service dog.  Within a few days, Gregg was in Tupelo to meet Quincy.

“We were taking a little break sitting on the porch out back and my mind started going, drifting.  I didn’t really notice, all of a sudden, he’s right there between my legs, looking up at me with those eyes,” Gregg said.

Quincy will also accompany Gregg as he travels the country, raising awareness of PTSD,  playing his music, and helping other veterans.

Steve Shaffer owns the training center and says he just wanted to find a way to show his appreciation to a true American hero.

“It’s a passion of my wife and I , trying to give back to the wounded warrior, they give us freedom to be able to own this business, to drive whatever color truck I want, or whatever, we wasn’t in the military but we wanted to be able to give back a little bit and say thanks,” Shaffer said.

Gregg says Quincy has already made a big difference in his life.

“I would love to transfer what I’m feeling now to everybody,” Gregg said.

Paul Gregg’s organization is called “Two Vets On A Mission”  To keep up with his travels go to twitter.com/2vetsOAM