Army Veteran Graduates, with Service Dog at His Side
Friday, May 30, 2014
By: Carmel Delshad

May 30, 2014 | WMFE, Orlando - A man and his four-legged best friend graduated today.

Army Veteran Paul Aragon stands with his service dog, Zoey, after graduating from the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute on Friday. Photo: Carmel Delshad | WMFE

It looks and sounds like any other graduation---proud parents beam with joy as camera flashes flicker throughout the room. But the leader in the procession of graduates is holding a leash.

Army Veteran Paul Aragon walked through the Orlando Motorcycle Mechanics Institute graduation ceremony with his service dog, Zoey.

Aragon was diagnosed with PTSD in 2009. He says Zoey played an integral part in getting him through school- and helping him assimilate back into civilian life. 

"She saved my life, really," says Aragon.

Zoey is trained to pick up on physical clues of discomfort or anger—when she senses these, she tugs on her leash to distract Aragon from those feelings.

“She’s able to pull me away, help me concentrate on her, versus what’s going on to trigger the symptoms and flashbacks, things like that,” says Aragon.

While there are few statistics on the number of veterans with service dogs, it’s estimated that over 245,000 veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were diagnosed with PTSD.

Zoey wore a cap and gown and received an award and a pat on the head during the ceremony.