TOKA'S FRIENDS
Service dogs for military veterans
Jay and Meah
In September of 2021, Meah began her mission as a service dog for Jay, a 39 year veteran of the U.S. Navy. Jay served 39 years of active duty in the United States Navy, 11 years as an enlisted sailor (10 of which was as a Corpsman) and 28 years as a Medical Service Corps Officer. He served as Commanding Officer for 3 different commands and retired June 1st, 2021 from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bethesda, where he served as Commanding Officer for over 2300 sailors from Walter Reed National Military medical Center and Ft Belvoir Hospital. Jay served operationally with the United States Marine Corps in both Iraq, 2006 and Afghanistan, 2010 in the role Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of Fleet Forward Surgical and Shock Trauma respectively. Jay was introduced to Meah in October, 2020 and successfully guided her through service dog certification on September 27th, 2021.
"I spent many years denying the pain and suffering that PTSD had on me. Distracted by leadership and family responsibilities, I failed to identify the many signs of PTSD and the negative results of such a diagnosis. In 2018 I realized that I needed help and sought counseling. Throughout counseling, it was apparent and advised that a service dog would benefit me. I was unable to travel, hike or flyfish in new areas. I was unable to sleep with any windows or doors unlocked. Meah has improved my ability to do all of these. She is a blessing from God and if not for Toka's Friends, I'm not sure how well I would be doing today. PTSD is a real "thing" and service dogs help veterans everyday. I'm truly grateful for Meah in my life, and so thankful for Toka's Friends and Meah's personal service dog trainer, Mike. He is a consummate professional and pours his heart and soul into training his dogs to serve our veterans. If I could, I would give him a medal." - Jay
