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Service dogs help veterans
By Denise Dick
HUBBARD
When Rich Curtician left his Greenville, Pa., house, he was frequently fearful something would trigger a memory from his days as an Army ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Annette Williams of Youngstown wondered every time she went out if she’d have a seizure.
Their new four-legged companions Mitch and Tony changed their lives.
Curtician, along with Mitch, a black Labrador retriever, and Williams, along with Tony, a goldendoodle, are the first graduates of The Together Journey, a nonprofit group founded by Katie Costello and Lorri Matey.
“We’re so happy for them,” said Costello, who also is co-owner of The Learning Dog Training and Enrichment Center.
The organization trains service dogs for military veterans. Both dogs alert their respective owners when they sense a problem.
Curtician suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome and smells, sounds, sights can spark an episode. Mitch senses the change in his owner and whines or pulls on his leash.
“I’m able to focus and come back,” Curtician said.
Curtician also suffered a traumatic brain injury during his time in the military, but he doesn’t regret his service.
“I love what I did,” Curtician said. “There are some situations I wish I could change.”
He can only move forward. Mitch is helping him with that.
“I’m responsible for another life,” Curtician said, his voice breaking.
As tears well in Curtician’s eyes, Mitch whines and moves in close to get his owner’s attention.
Williams, an Air Force veteran, was working as a veterans’ representative when a steel door struck her in the head, causing a traumatic brain injury.
She underwent surgery and had to re-learn how to walk.
Williams’ voice quivers as she recounts some of her ordeal. Tony moves in, placing his head in her lap.
Costello’s father, Tony Matola, died in 2015. He was a Vietnam War veteran, and the cancer that killed him was attributed to Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant used during the war.
The family started The Together Journey as a way to honor him. He was passionate about causes that helped veterans and animals. Tony the goldendoodle is named for him.
Williams connected with The Together Journey after another service dog training organization turned her down.
Costello found Tony through a Cleveland-area animal group that rescued him from a puppy mill. Costello uses dogs only from pounds, shelters or rescue groups for the service-dog program.
She expects to select the next dog from another shelter or rescue next month.
Curtician got Mitch as a birthday present from his girlfriend, Denise Caylor.
“I went and picked him out right after he was born,” he said.
Caylor contacted Costello, too, and set Mitch up for service training.
Curtician is joining The Together Journey as a way to help other veterans. He’s grateful to Costello and Mitch for allowing him to do it.
“I’m able to contribute back to society,” he said.