Lending a helping paw: New Hartford Legion fundraiser will benefit service dog organization

For veterans returning home from the battlefield with all of the mental and emotional scars of war still lingering, there are some problems that traditional medicine simply isn’t equipped to fix. Sometimes, they just need an unconditional friend: a service dog.
           
In conjunction with Retrieving Freedom, a Waverly-based company that trains such canines, the New Hartford American Legion and Legion Auxiliary will hold a free will donation soup and chili lunch and bake sale at the community building on December 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. According to Legion Auxiliary President Dolores Mooty, this is the first time they have partnered up with the organization.
           
“We try to help the veterans that come back. We want to help them any way we can,” Mooty said. “We want to get out that our veterans are important to us, and we want to get behind them as a community and as good American citizens.”
           
The abilities of a service dog are multifaceted: they serve as full-time companions, assist with mobility and night terrors and create a social bubble for veterans who struggle with large crowds. They’re also a useful tool for autistic children in building friendships at school and handling anxiety. 
 
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