Veterans connect with service dogs through free program

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A broken man. A forgotten dog.

On their own, they may not have much to look forward to. Together? That's another story.

Roger Martin served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. After recent hip surgery, even the simplest of actions are a labor.

"She came at the right time for me," said Martin.

"She" is Maggie, a dog that had been forgotten by careless owners.

"Maggie was found with her sister Molly they were running around the neighborhood, and one of our fosters pets for vets up in Spring, she found them and took them in," said Tammy Hamilton, of Pets for Vets Houston.

Maggie was taught to be a service dog by the group.

The black lab was trained volunteer Gina Moyer who trained her own service dog years before and who was looking to help people in need connect with animals who need something as well.

"Pets for Vets Houston is an organization that matches shelter dogs with veterans with PTSD or depression anxiety or traumatic brain injuries or veterans who served in combat," said Hamilton.

Hamilton knows exactly the good that can come from a pet-vet partnership because she is the first veteran the group helped in Houston. Hamilton also knows just how much the pets get out of the bargain.

"They become part of our family, we have picnics where we all get together. It's just a really beautiful thing. And the veteran does not have to be alone anymore that's one of the biggest rewards to," said Hamilton.

Pets for Vets Houston takes care of any veterinary bills, all of the training, the equipment and everything else needed to make a match free of charge to vets.

So far, more than a dozen matches have been made. The results -- well, they speak for themselves.