Boots, an English Golden Retriever, was given to Ben Marich by Frank Griggs of EmpowerPups by Hero's Puppy for Life when Boots was ten weeks old. Frank is a master trainer and is training Boots as Ben's new service dog. Ben is a 100% disabled Marine Vietnam combat veteran who suffers from PTSD, hearing loss, and other issues. Boots is being trained to be Ben's lifelong partner. Because service dogs provide an essential service to their owner, they're almost always on the job.

Vietnam veteran Richard Pimentel lost most of his hearing and speech in an explosion in Vietnam. Aside from hearing loss, like most Vietnam veterans, he suffers from PTSD. When he returned from Vietnam, he applied for a Veterans Administration rehabilitation program and was turned down. This was his first impetus to remake himself into a world-class speaker and disability rights advocate. On July 19th, Milt Wright, Richard's long-time friend and business partner, organized a

My name is Ben Marich! I am a 100% disabled Marine Vietnam combat veteran. After years of struggling with PTSD and other disabilities, I received and was assisted in training a service dog,  later to become a therapy dog. We got Sljivo, my puppy, when she was six weeks old. Over the coming months, she became my service dog, comforting me during anxiety attacks and loud noise situations, and alerting me to situational awareness situations, such as people or crowds behind me. ​

As a society, we owe a debt of gratitude to those who have selflessly served in the military to protect our freedom and security....