Service Dog Toby
November 2020
Even though Steve Brown and Toby certified almost three years ago we have continued to keep in touch. Steve has assisted in several fundraisers and loves the opportunity to give back.
Steve continues to do very well in his everyday life and Toby has been a huge part of his success. As for Toby, his workload may be a bit less intensive these days, but he is still the battle buddy that helped Veterans Day in and day out. I think these two each hit the great life lottery when they were teamed up!
October 2019
Toby certified a year and a half ago and has been working steadily since then. As you can see in the first picture, they are the picture of what this program is all about. The second photo shows Toby at home, relaxing after a long day of work with Steve.
Steve has attended several of our fundraisers and tells his story of dealing with Post Traumatic Stress and how he was once in a very bad place until Toby came into his life. Let me tell you if you ever question the validity of a great Service Dog and the effects they can have in the lives of our veterans that need them all you have to do is look at that picture and know that Steve has returned to a high quality of life that he has earned. Listening to him tell his story has left crowds of people in tears and humbled me greatly. Not only did Steve serve his country and give so much of himself, but now he is more than willing to help deliver the message of how this program can change lives. This is the result that we always hope to achieve. Thank you, Steve and Toby!!
Third Update
On February 3rd, as we were celebrating the new team of Kathleen and Bo, Steve and Toby were in attendance at the Florida Panthers hockey game. Unbeknownst to Steve, our founder Kevin Sonka had another little gem up his sleeve. Shortly after the presentation of the check to Kevin, we again went live to celebrate Toby being officially certified as a bonafide Service Dog, training complete!
Second Update
Our young Toby, a phenomenal German Shorthair Pointer, has undertaken some changes in direction to his young life.
Toby’s first veteran, a United States Marine, took a job driving truck and Toby did not take kindly to sitting in a cab all day. So when our veteran made the call our program made a change. The Marine is now listed with Koda, but Toby is now with his Forever Veteran, Steve Brown of Jacksonville, Florida. The bond between Steve and Toby took very quickly, and training moved about as fast. I got to see them in action recently and Toby is an absolute Rock Star with Steve. He amazed me with is capabilities to help.
First Update
Support Service Dogs for Veterans is proud to present Service Dog #1a (what can I say, we started with brothers and I can't pick which one to call first!), Toby! Toby comes from Maahs Hunt Farm in Lincoln Nebraska and is a premier German Shorthair Pointer with "Impressive bloodlines with multiple champions and hall of famers in his pedigree"! Back the Blue K-9 Force donated funds to get him into the Puppy Project. Toby has gone from Nebraska to Alabama and has been paired with a Marine Corps Veteran. He made the trip on September 16th at the tender age of 14 weeks. After a couple of weeks with his veteran, Toby was sent to Scent Imprint For Dogs in Georgia for concentrated training on October 2nd, 2016. Toby will certainly be a game-changer and will bring a greater quality of life to his Marine! Good Luck Toby, we will see you again soon!
