Planet Ford Dallas is excited to share that we attended the graduation ceremony at Canine Companions in Irving last Friday, January 19! We met three Texas veterans who are now paired with highly skilled service dogs. Canine Companions has six campusus around the U.S. that train Labradors and Golden Retrievers for veterans and civilians with physical, psychological and mental impairments.

Pictured from left to right is Dallas (USArmy (Ret.) Iraq in 2000s) and his dog Becca; Light Up To Live Executive Director Maureen Ellis; Bill C. (USArmy, Ret.) and his dog Calgary. (Bill served in the 18th Airborne Corp, 82nd Airborne Corp & the 3rd Armor Division (Germany); Light Up To Live Board Chair Angela Enright, and Willie M. (USNavy, Ret.)with his dog Sydney.

Each of these Veterans believed for the longest time that they did not deserve the help of a Service Dog. But, each of them say they suffer from invisible and physical injuries from their time in service to our country. PTS, depression, nightmares, emotional outbursts, numerous joint replacements, imbalance, and agoraphobia are some of the issues they deal with.

With the support of these service dogs, these veterans are on the path to better health and healthier social and family interactions. Planet Ford Dallas and The Enright Family sponsored Calgary and our sister store, Bill Fick Ford in Huntsville, TX sponsored Sydney. Both sponsorships are through the Light Up To Live Foundation in Dallas.

Light Up To Live Foundation is a 501-c3 public charity founded by the Randall Reed Family and created to support veterans in their path to better health. To learn more, visit www.lightuptolive.org and www.caninecompanions.org

Randall Reed is founder of the award-winning World Class Automotive Group based in Dallas, TX. The privately-owned company represents five Ford dealerships and two Lincoln dealerships in Texas.