Many of the competitors at the Invictus Games have service dogs, trained to aide emotionally or physically depending on their owners needs.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
Yesterday, the heat in Central Florida got to be so bad that an unscheduled swimming race had to be put on for the pups.
I rarely meet a canine who doesn’t like the water, so you can imagine what a success the impromptu race was (not to mention being dried off by a prince. Nice work, if you can find it, amiright?)
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
“Come on, mate. Nearly there!”
“Just help me the f*** up, human.”
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
“Ah, yes. Right behind the ears. That’s it.”
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus
The service dogs have been a constant presence at the four-day event in Orlando, Florida, taking a little time off from the competition meet-and-greet with Mickey Mouse and Pluto.
Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
Retired Special Operations Command Sergeant Leonard Anderson told ABC’s Bob Woodruff that he wouldn’t be at the games in Orlando if it weren’t for his service dog, Azza.
“Everything I do, everything I’ve ever competed in, everything ever since the injury has mostly been with her,” Azza told Woodruff.
“I might not be here without her.”
Retired U.S. Navy air crewman Brett Parks lost his lower right leg after being shot while trying to break up a robbery.
His service dog, Freedom, helps him cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I end up concentrating on him rather than concentrating on my surroundings. It helps me because I know I’m responsible for him,” Parks explained.
It isn’t all about me.”
“Day to day, he helps me pick things up if I drop them. If my leg is off and I fall, he actually helps me up. He is also here for a little bit of PTSD so if I’m out of town and all alone he is there with me and makes me feel a little better.”
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