I want to share the vision of an American hero who is continuing to be a hero, even in his recovery from an IED in Iraq.  Sgt. Ron was in Special Forces for 10 years before he went into the Nevada National Guard, and started his own successful business in Las Vegas.  That is, untill he was deployed to Iraq.  His years in the SF went relatively unscathed, and it wasn't until his Guard unit was called to duty, and he was assigned to the 19th SF in Iraq that he was injured.  He was one of the "lucky" ones who is not missing a limb, but suffers from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 
  
He and his wife are proud parents of six children, 5 boys and one little girl.  Their oldest son is just out of Army boot.  Sgt. Ron and his missus have been residents of the Fisher Houses in which I volunteer.  It's been a delight to get to know them both.  Sgt. Ron went home on leave with Margaret, where she stayed to work, and the two of them came up with what I believe is a terrific idea...not to mention an admirable one.  They've started a not-for-profit (501.C.3 is in the works) foundation called "Canines For Combat Wounded".  Sgt. Ron's TBI prevents him from remembering how to build a website, so I sent him to www.godaddy.com who helped me create this site.  Before he could explore it, my Earth Angel sent him another Soldiers' Angel who is helping to create the website. You can believe I will link to it the second it's been created. 

Sgt. Ron didn't let any grass grow...the seed of the idea has already sprouted with the donation of ten (10) service dogs by Nead.org who will be paying to fly qualified wounded veterans to their facilities in the northeast.  The recipients will be matched with, and trained to utilize the service dogs.  The only problem?  We need to locate qualified candidates to receive these $20,000 dogs!  Suggestions, anyone?  If you know of a candidate, have them go to the Nead.org site, and fill out the application with a notation that they were referred by SSgt. Ron Portillo.  Let's get this program moving folks.  As Sgt. Ron told me, if we wait for the bureaucracy to do it, it will never happen!