Please Donate to Disabled Vet’s Service Dog

Hi, my name is Alexandra, and I am trying to get help covering the end of life costs-specifically the cremation-of my husband Robert’s service dog Ruger!

Background: my husband is a US Navy veteran who spent 14 years serving his country. He spent a total of 5.5 years in Iraq in the North Arabian Gulf. He did humanitarian missions after the 2004 tsunami in the South Pacific/Indian Ocean. Then in 2009 he was in a horrible accident, hit by a vehicle and thrown 56 feet. He lost most of the fluid around his brain, broke multiple bones, shattered his right leg and almost died.

He suffered a TBI and was originally a limb salvage. He managed to re-qualify to enlist again after his injury and served another 2 years before the pain became too much and he had to have his right leg amputated just below the knee. After this, his life was understandably turned upside down and he had to learn how to walk again, gain new balance, and basically figure out how to do everything in a new way. His career with the Navy ended and he was medically retired with honorable conditions.

He and this dog have an incredible bond. My husband learned to walk again by leaning on this dog in every way. The dog was trained to offer stability for walking, help him avoid falls and tripping, and alert someone if he did fall or was incapacitated in some way. He was a 90lb sweetheart-so quiet that you would never even know he was there! He is the calmest, most sensitive/in tuned with human emotion dog I have ever known! Never vicious or aggressive in any way, yet I always felt 100% protected and safe when he was with me!

This has been a very rough year, financially and otherwise, for our family. Through it all, we have found a way to make things work, but the high cost of euthanasia and cremation have made this something we just cannot afford. Please consider giving-even $5 will help! The money will go 100% to paying for the cremation. The cost is $308 for the cremation alone. My husband and I want to have the ashes to keep with us and the only way to ensure we get just our pet’s ashes are to do the private cremation which is why it is so expensive. Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully help us to cover these costs and be able to grieve knowing we have a part of him still with us!