Service dog brings hope, purpose

Marine Corps Veteran Sean Smith didn't leave his house for four years. He had lost purpose and motivation. His journey to that point had been a long one. It all started on his last tour in Afghanistan.

After four years in the military, Smith deployed to Helmand Province for his third overseas tour of duty. His team was racing toward reports of a firefight in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous areas. No one noticed the nearby improvised explosive device.

Then Smith felt searing heat from an explosion while standing in the open door of his truck on the radio. A wall came down, slicing the vehicle in half. Smith lost consciousness. When he came to, he grabbed the radio and began calling for a medical evacuation.

Diagnosed with TBI and PTSD

Smith left the military after that tour and began working, but was continuously let go due to being a "liability for safety reasons." He said he would lose his balance, miss work due to severe cluster headaches and multiple medical visits. He would even occasionally lose consciousness.

Smith was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder. They found a service-connected tumor in his brain.

"My symptoms from the TBI vary from day-to-day. I get a lot of blurriness with my vision. I get a lot of dizziness, vertigo. I have a hard time remembering where I put things. I get headaches a lot," he shared.

After being diagnosed with the tumor, Smith began to look into getting a service dog.

He spent four years living in self-isolation before returning to Chicago in 2022. He mentioned service dogs to his counselor at Edward Hines Jr. VA. She connected him to Very Important Pooches (VIP) Service Dog Foundation, a non-profit charity organization that trains and places service, skilled companion and emotional support dogs. The organization has a Veteran scholarship program to place dogs free of charge.

"It helps my mental health."

Smith met Hawk and was paired with him in April. Before Hawk, Smith said his only motivation was his daughter, who will turn three in February.

"My daughter is my number one purpose, but I felt like I wasn't giving her enough. Now that I have a service dog, it motivates me to want to get up. It helps my mental health. I didn't think owning a service dog would help with that because it's so cliché," he said.

Smith's goal is to advocate for mental health for Veterans and those with medical ailments. He had the opportunity to speak about his experiences on the Drew Barrymore show.

"I grew up watching this woman in movies and now I get to sit down and have a conversation with her. She fell in love with Hawk and I got pictures of her petting him. I feel like my future is bright. It's been 15 years since I felt whole and complete. I was on the Drew Barrymore show and I've had other people approach me and want to do interviews. That's when I started thinking maybe there's something here that I can help others with, and I would be glad to do that for anybody."

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