Veteran battling PTSD and cancer finds new hope with service dog in southwest Missouri

JOPLIN, Mo. — A man who once served our country travels to southwest Missouri to officially pair up with his new best friend.

Scott Fanelli spent eight years serving his country in the U.S. Air Force.

“You can’t look at that face and not fall in love.”

But an accident while working on F-15 fighter jets left him unable to remain in the military. To make matters worse, he was diagnosed with brain cancer after leaving the service. The combination of PTSD and the byproduct of cancer surgery has left him in need of a little help from man’s best friend, in this case, Elka.

“It’s a little embarrassing to be a fifty-year-old man and breaking down in the middle of a store and start crying but here we are, you know,” said Fanelli.

“All right, block post and watch, your choice on however you want to do it,” said Jimmy Burgess, Executive Director, Heartland Canines For Veterans.

Thanks to the generosity of the Webb City Elks Lodge, which paid for Elka and her training, an area store served as the setting for a final exam of sorts to make sure both veteran and dog are operating as one.

“So we like to submerge these service dogs in areas and places where there are going to be a lot of stimulus to see how they react and condition them to reacting the right way when something does come up,” said Burgess.

Burgess said the team passed with flying colors.

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“From the first minute I walked into the pen with her she was like Jimmy took pictures of us together for the first minute and you know, just like she’s there she just knew she was mine and I was hers and it was just love at first sight,” said Fanelli.

“It’s an amazing day, any chance we get to see a tree bear fruit of being able to provide a service dog with a veteran is just a blessing for everyone involved, family members, friends, the community as well as everybody with Heartland Canines,” said Burgess.

Elka marks the 45th dog Heartland has been able to place with veterans since its inception in 2015.

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