Rallying To Save Vets, Pets
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Long Islander News photo/Carrie Parker
U.S. Army veteran William Beckenhaupt pets his new service-dog-in-training, Schnapps, as his wife, Gayle, left, and Paws of War founder Dori Scofield, right, look on.
By Carrie Parker
info@longislandergroup.com
The Northport community rallied around an Iraqi war veteran on Saturday as he got to welcome home a service dog for the first time.
“It’s just a blessing to see that a community like this cares about us,” said U.S. Army veteran William Beckenhaupt, of East Moriches, with his wife, Gayle, by his side as he addressed club members and families gathered at the Northport Yacht Club.
Beckenhaupt served in Iraq in 2008, jumping out of planes with 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division. Since leaving the service, Beckenhaupt has suffered from back and knee injuries, and was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It’s had its up days and down days,” Beckenhaupt said.
But after the presentation ceremony, which was hosted by Cow Harbor Warriors, Paws of War and Northport community members, Beckenhaupt now has Schnapps, a 6-month-old St. Berdoodle service-dog-in-training, to provide support.
“I’m hoping he’ll provide stability” and lessen “the anxiety level of being in crowds,” Beckenhaupt said.
In the fall last year, Cow Harbor Warriors, a Northport nonprofit that raises money to honor and aid veterans, approached Northport Yacht Club member Bob Doherty, who is also the head of the yacht club’s annual Make-A-Wish regatta. They asked Doherty if there was a way he could help raise some money to go towards providing a service dog for a wounded veteran.
“Whoever I asked said ‘yes,’” Doherty said, adding that about 80 people participated in his fundraiser. Together they raised $5,000, which was enough to help cover the cost of training a service dog.
The money was donated to Paws of War, a Nesconset-based organization that trains and places shelter dogs with veterans who suffer from the emotional effects of war such as PTSD.
“What they did is amazing,” Dori Scofield, founder of Paws of War, said of the fundraising effort. Scofield added that the Cow Harbor Warriors have been “super supporters” of Paws of War over the years.
Scofield said she has seen a “huge impact” when rescue dogs are matched with veterans who suffer from their battle scars far off the battlefield.
“We saw the difference [the dogs] made in their civilian life,” Scofield said. “It’s one very beneficial tool in the toolbox of recovery. It’s not a cure-all, but it goes a long way,” especially in coping with anxiety and hypervigilance, she said.
Jen Pinto, president of Cow Harbor Warriors, said veterans can have physical injuries as well as unseen wounds.
“Sometimes it’s hard to put both feet on the ground again,” Pinto said. But through Paws of War, “the healing leash happens twofold” as pets and vets are paired and thereby rescue each other, she added.
With Schnapps, “we really lucked out,” Beckenhaupt said. Schnapps has a “great temperament” and, at just 6 months old, is young enough to be “molded” and trained correctly.
“I have no worries about this dog,” Scofield said. “I’m confident he will help Will.”
Beckenhaupt and wife Gayle, a preschool teacher, have two children, ages 3 and 5, who just met Schnapps on Wednesday.
“They’re enamored with him,” Beckenhaupt said. “Since they met him, they’ve been like, ‘When’s he coming? When’s he coming?’”
Many veterans and their service dogs were in attendance on Saturday. Vietnam veteran Lionel Bauman and his wife, Jane, of Baldwin, received Mr. Wrinkles five years ago, when he was only a 3-month-old, mostly Shar-Pei rescue puppy.
“He’s helped me a lot,” Bauman said of Mr. Wrinkles, whose calm demeanor and support have helped him in the way of communicating with others again.
“I can talk a lot more to people,” Bauman said.
The ceremony kicked off with a few songs by Amityville American Legion Pipe Band members Steve Gorey on the bagpipe and Patrick Patterson on the drums. Members of the Northport Fire Department were also in attendance, standing at attention with an American flag. As the finale, Northport Middle School Assistant Principal Chelsea Brown led the room in singing “God Bless America.”
“It’s a great organization to be a part of,” said Cow Harbor Warriors Board Member Bill O’Neill. “Our motto has been, ‘It’s our turn to serve. The vets have served, now we serve the vets.”
Beckenhaupt added as he addressed the crowd, “Getting Schnapps is going to be phenomenal for my family and for myself as far as training and reinventing my life essentially.
“My wife and I thank you very much.”
