Stolen Service Dog Reunited With Iraq War Veteran
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57 commentsLEHIGH ACRES, FL – An Iraq war veteran says his special needs assistance dog was stolen from behind his home on Unice Avenue South Monday night.
UPDATE (2/29/12): Ebby is home. There was a happy reunion in Lehigh Acres this weekend when the service dog stolen from a young war veteran was finally returned to his elated owner.
-end update
There are no suspects in the case, and Ryan Grose says he is devastated by the loss of his friend and partner. He is pleading for the safe return of Ebby after the dog was stolen by someone who broke the chain that secured him. Grose came home Monday night and Ebby had vanished.
“I started to break down I guess. I called my girlfriend and she came over,” said Grose.
Grose served 2 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the young veteran returned to the states with post traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury. Ebby is specially trained to help him cope with episodes of severe anxiety.
“If I go into a flashback, he can recognize the symptoms- he’ll come up to me and nudge me,” said Grose. He says he’s lost without his four-legged support system, and just wants his beloved pet back.
Anyone with information regarding Ebby or his whereabouts is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff at 239-477-1000.
NEVER EVER chain a dog in the back yard!! I’m sorry for your loss, but I hope the poor dog is safe in another home with people who appreciate him enough NOT to chain him outside!!!
Hate to burst your bubble Anonymous, but the dog wasn’t being abused by being temporarily chained. Probably the new “people who appreciate” are a lab or such, they steal dogs all the time.
Which is why you
don’t leave a dog chained. 0:(
i agree!! why have a service dog and then chain it in the yard? it can be of NO service from there.
what a jerk… my dogs get chained up outside too… i love my dogs but im not gonna stand out there with them all the time they need time outside just like u do….
Chaining a dog outside is considered so bad that it’s outlawed in all socially conscious states.
My heart just breaks for this man..,soooooo sad:(( however, someone had a good point….they should check all local shelters as somebody could have been pissed off if they had seen the dog chained up out back when the man wasn’t home!! I hope they find this adorable puppers & that he is rtnd to his home:)))
I sympathize with the man, but seriously bad judgement call. Never chain a dog, especially out in the open like that where anyone can grab him. Lets just hope the dog is better off with someone else.
You can go back & forth all day about whether his service dog should have been chained or not, but the bottom line is that it’s still gone. Use some of that energy to find his service animal to get it back to him. Talking about woulda, coulda, shoulda does not help this Vet one damned bit. Go look for the dog instead if you want to help this soldier. He’s helped you in the past to keep our country safe.
Hopefully the dog was chipped.
I’m sure I’ll get alot of flack for this but dogs do not belong on a chain. Period.
I feel bad for this gentleman but I don’t understand why a “service dog” is on a chain.
Nothing good comes from a dog on a chain.
I don’t know the whole story, obviously, but I would bet that someone felt sorry for the dog and took it.
I kind of agree with some of the people here; don’t know the whole story but a “partner and friend” wouldn’t have been CHAINED up in the back yard. If a dog is truly a member of the family they are INDOORS, with trips outside for walks, and maybe a doggie door to go in and out of a fenced back yard. I seriously doubt this was a one time thing. I truly hope this vet gets his dog back, and then starts REALLY treating the dog like a “partner and friend”. It will please me no end when laws are finally passed outlawing the chaining of dogs.
Ryan, thank your for service to our country and I’m praying that you get your dog back.
this poor dog can be of NO service chained in the yard. sorry for the vets loss, but i dont understand how the dog was supposed to be of help from there.
Maybe his dog was chained because it didn’t have a secure yard… Maybe it atleast could roam around on its chain then being in a kennel while he was out. Stop judging before you know the story!
Hooray!
hopefully he’s learned his lesson and dosn’t chain the dog up unsupervised while he’s not home..servicedogs belong with there handlers not left home alone outside.
i am so pleased home at last
man I guess he needs a service dog BUT ….this man had better of learned his lesson !! ….you dont leave your precious animal chained up let alone chained up and then leave !! ….I pray for them both and that he treats this precious soul as gold !!!
This is great news :0)
Wooohooo!
So glad they’re reunited- but keep your pup indoors when you’re not home
Oh yessss!!!!!!!
Yay. Where was he?!
Yippee!!!!!
Fantastic!!
whooohooo!!!!! <3
Service dogs belong by your side, not chained outside. I only leave Katie at home when she doesn’t feel good (in heat). She is with me at the theatre, the opera, church, grocery shopping, wherever I go she is with me in her vest. Please use your service dog as a service dog. Protect her and love her as unconditionally as she loves you.
That’s the kind of news in the morning I like to hear! Soooo happy for both Ebby and his owner!
If you watched the video, he clearly stated at the end that he will not be leaving Ebby chained any more. So happy they are together again.
Yay!!
sandy…aren’t servicedogs usually altered?
how is yours going into heat then.
it should be an automatic about leaving service animals outside but guess the world has no common sense.
Actually, they don’t have to be… if it is an emotional support animal
So happy to hear that Ebby is home!!!!
Prayers answered, welcome home.
This owner needs to have this dog inside the home with him. No dog should be tied up by a chain in the yard.
WOOT WOOT!!!!
Many blessings to Ebby and all people who love and care for her!
Great news and very happy for the team, but. Why isn’t the dog going out with him?
Thank you so much for the update with the wonderful news !!
Yahoo, tawanda, yippee, WONDERFUL!
Thats great news.
I hav a dog that if I walk her she will not use the bathroom and if she got out of the house she could and would jump the fence …she has to be chained up.for short periods to do her business..it makes me sad that u all r so judgmental of this vet..if he hadn’t fought for u and our country..where would we b,u didn’t go into service for our country so can we blame u for that???
butt wiggles all around…good news
Yay!!!
YAYAYAYA thats great news. Welcome home Ebby
That is great news thank goodness
Great news!
ruff ruff mr.buddy and rusty boy george are soooo happy rbby is home
WONDERFUL NEWS!!!
Thank God Ebby has been returned!
Thank God <3!!!!
Whoever stole him didn’t like the fact he was on a chain. Keep him in the house when you are gone. Dogs don’t belong on chains, it causes to many other problems such as agression.
Yay!!!
)
that’s is great news!!!
That’s great news! I hope he’ll, from now on, keep his dog indoors when he’s not home! It’ll always high likely a risk to have a dog stolen outside locked doors of a home.
First of all, you shouldn’t leave your dog CHAINED up behind your house… Second, that dog looks like he is malnourished. The person probably stole the dog because that guy can’t take care of him correctly.