Reporting For Duty, A Profile of Disabled Veterans & Their Service Dogs

Yesterday, Veterans' Day, a new book by award-winning author and photographer Tracy Libby titled Reporting For Duty: True Stories of Wounded Veterans and Their Service Dogs was officially released.  In the book, Libby profiles 15 disabled veterans from WWII, Vietnam, both Iraq wars and Afghanistan and details how these brave military men and women who served our country are overcoming obstacles with the help of their service dogs, some of which saved their lives.

I was given the opportunity to receive an advanced copy of the book to review however, I do not think a review is in order for this beautifully photographed book filled with amazing stories of veterans with a wide range of physical and emotional challenges all with one thing in common: a skilled, reliable and loyal service dog by their side.  No, if anything a sincere thank you should go out to the veterans for sharing their stories with author Libby as well as to all those who work tirelessly to train the dogs that become service dogs.

Reporting For Duty features how the dogs are selected, trained and socialized before being matched with their veteran partners and provides a background on assistance dogs, guide dogs, PTSD dogs and emotional-support dogs, as well as the history of canine-assisted therapy.  The book also covers the many service-dog training organizations and the dedicated people who are determined to help those who fought for our nation regain their mobility and independence. 

“We decided to publish Reporting for Duty to emphasize the urgent and desperate need that our veterans have for service dogs and the importance that needs to be placed on supporting them,” said Christopher Reggio, general manager, I-5 Press.  “We hope that these 15 powerful stories of hope and empowerment will inspire others to get involved and give back to those who served our country.”

What I truly loved about the book was reading not only the veterans' stories of service but also reading about the individual dogs, how and where they were trained and most importantly, what it was like when veteran and service dog first met.  It seemed in every instance that dog and veteran were destined to be together. 

If you love a veteran and/or if you love a dog, you will love Reporting For Duty.  And if you purchase a copy of Reporting For Duty, you will be helping Veterans Moving Forward as a portion of the proceeds will be donated to this nonprofit organization that provides therapy and service dogs at no cost to physically and mentally challenged veterans of the US Armed Forces.

Reporting For Duty: True Stories of Wounded Veterans and Their Service Dogs by Tracy Libby is available wherever books are sold.