Frank Spady Viet Nam Vet

I thought it would be only proper to start the Featured Vets Section with a post about my husband, Frank Spady. He is a proud Veteran of the Viet Nam war and served in the mid 1960s. Before he went to Viet Nam he served in Korea and trained German Shepherds for the military.

Frank’s time in the Viet Nam war was spent on the ground fighting and then as a helicopter door gunner. Most people know that the door gunners were VERY lucky to make it out alive.

Life expectancy for these brave men was not good. His experiences were full of fighting and the deaths of many young men. These experiences have stayed with him the rest of his life.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Comfort of Dogs

Although back in the 60s there was no information or knowledge about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder many of the Nam vets experienced this and still do. It took years for Frank to realize that his frequent nightmares of the war were symptoms of PTSD.

Through the years Frank has had dogs that he loved. When he lived in Maryland he had a great Yellow Lab named Liberty. His two daughters grew up with Liberty as their faithful family dog and companion. Liberty was a great hunter too.

In the last 10 years with Frank we have had three beautiful Golden Retrievers. They aren’t service dogs and they aren’t therapy dogs but they have all been the best damn dogs that we could ever have wanted. Although we both have children that we love and adore our dogs have played a large and loving role in our lives.

Our Goldens, Penny and Lucky, have gone to the Rainbow Bridge. But our current Golden, Daisy, is seven months old and the light of our lives.

Daisy has been given so many extra privileges it is almost embarrassing. When we go to bed at night Daisy is right by our side. She loves to snuggle up to Frank and sleep at the foot of the bed pushed up against his legs.

The love that we have given and received from our dogs has been a great therapy in itself. Our dogs have made every day better for us.

I’m very proud of Frank for his service for our great country. He is a proud American and supporter of our military forces.