Furry therapy: Group connects veterans and dogs — Frederick News Post
July 6, 2014 – A cold wet nose and wagging tail have given many a sad or weary heart a lift.
But seeing his dog Gabe ease the anxiety of an 11-year-old boy who was leaving his mother and moving into foster care gave social worker Rick Yount an idea.
That led Yount and Gabe, a pup given him by friends who had fought in Operation Desert Storm, to embark on the golden retriever’s work as a certified therapy dog.
Twelve years later the gift came full circle when Yount started a program using dogs like Gabe to help veterans recover from the psychological and physical wounds they suffered in war.