{"id":4638,"date":"2015-05-12T05:29:34","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T09:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=4638"},"modified":"2015-05-12T12:47:05","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T16:47:05","slug":"after-meeting-life-changing-service-dog-local-army-vet-looks-to-pay-it-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2015\/05\/after-meeting-life-changing-service-dog-local-army-vet-looks-to-pay-it-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"After Meeting Life-Changing Service Dog, Local Army Vet Looks to Pay It Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"U.S.<\/a>

U.S. Army Vet Adam Campbell and Kenan, his service dog. (Photo: Adam Campbell)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe cameras didn\u2019t see us going through an Iraqi school that was opened for the first time, helping out the kids,\u201d explained Adam Campbell, a U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Lakewood and served on the front lines during four tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. \u201cI was very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cameras also rarely showed the true horror of war.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was blown up two times in three minutes,\u201d Campbell, who served as a sniper, said. \u201cThe first was an IED. We were going toward the target. A minute to two minutes after we made contact, RPGs started to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell, now 31, was paralyzed for nearly 10 months, and spent almost two years in the hospital following the attack. But over time, his wounds began to heal, and with plenty of hard work, his strength began to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started getting better physically,\u201d he said. \u201cPhysical was easy for me; the Army taught me how to do physical training. The mental situation was very far gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story that has hit home for countless veterans returning from war. Campbell said he returned to New Jersey after joining the Army following graduation from Lakewood High School in 2002, but home was a different place after so many years away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came back, everyone was projecting who they wanted me to see rather than who they really were,\u201d Campbell recalled. \u201cI really couldn\u2019t talk to everybody because I felt like I missed everything. You come back expecting a certain structure and network of friends, but when you leave, everything changes. I saw the best in people and I saw the worst in people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell became depressed, had frequent nightmares, stopped talking to his friends and family members, and couldn\u2019t hold a job. All that, of course, was happening while he was also getting used to life with the physical challenges that remained from his injuries. The downward spiral seemed like it had no end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to deal with anything,\u201d said Campbell.<\/p>\n

That is, until he made a friend who changed his life, on the recommendation of another veteran who had a similar experience.<\/p>\n

That friend is Kenan, a mixed breed dog from an organization called paws4vets<\/a>, which matches veterans with service dogs who help with physical complications, mental health issues and the trials and tribulations of daily life that come easy for everyone else, but come with obstacles for those who have gone through horrific experiences on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

Paws4Vets has an innovative formula \u2013 a returning veteran lucky enough to be accepted into the program spends days, sometimes weeks, meeting three or four trained service dogs at a time where they are initially raised by inmates at one of five prisons in West Virginia until a match is found. The person doesn\u2019t choose the dog; the dog chooses the person through what is called a \u201cbump,\u201d the phrase used for the nudge a service dog will give when he or she feels a special connection with a human.<\/p>\n

The organization works on a \u201cpay it forward\u201d system, where veterans who have received service dogs work to help raise money so others can have the same privilege. Locally, enter Mike Jurusz of Brick, owner of Chef Mike\u2019s ABG<\/a> in South Seaside Park, who befriended Campbell and offered up his oceanfront restaurant for a day-long fund-raiser for paws4vets. The fundraiser will be held this coming Sunday, May 17, and will feature food from numerous Shore area restaurants, beer and wine from New Jersey microbreweries and wineries, a gift auction and the chance to see paws4vets\u2019 service dogs close up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous, tremendous organization,\u201d said Jurusz. \u201cThis is something really near and dear to me. I\u2019m a huge supporter of our military and our veterans, and for me, it\u2019s a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jurusz said he has spoken with veterans whose dogs lie next to them in an embrace at night when they have nightmares, sense oncoming seizures and know almost instinctively when their partner is upset, depressed or just in need of some company.<\/p>\n

Kenan, Campbell said, changed his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I tell you that my dog is bonded to me and legitimately loves me, you just can\u2019t understand it,\u201d he explained. \u201cKenan knows when I go from cold to hot. He knows when I get angry, when I get depressed. If I get depressed, he\u2019s there within a minute with his head on my lap, just kind of saying, \u2018do you want to throw a ball?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For warriors accustomed to military tradition and bravery on the battlefield, asking for help is often a challenge \u2013 a challenge that is made easier by having a loyal companion.<\/p>\n

Before getting Kenan, \u201cI was just a mean person,\u201d Campbell recalled. \u201cConfused, depressed, frustrated, and there was not a lot of light coming in my windows. I had more excuses than most to stay in my bed. Now, no matter what, I have to wake up because he has to go to the bathroom. I make sure he gets fed and he goes outside.\u00a0When I walk around, people see the dog and they instantly smile. Suddenly, most people in my universe were happy. That makes things so much easier for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s life, with the help of Kenan, has turned an amazing corner. Campbell now works as a contracting officer with the Veterans Administration, and brings his best friend to the office every day.<\/p>\n