Lone Survivor meets Marley & Me in this inspiring buddy memoir of an extraordinary service dog whose enduring love brought a wounded soldier back to life. A decade ago, Special Forces warrior Jason Morgan parachuted into the Central American jungle on an anti-narcotics raid. He’d served with the famous Night Stalkers on countless such missions. This one turned out very different. Months … very different. Months later, he regained consciousness in a US military hospital, with no memory of how he’d gotten there. The first words he heard were from his surgeon telling him he would never walk again. The determined soldier responded: “Sir, yes, I will.”
After multiple surgeries, unbearable chronic pain, and numerous setbacks, Morgan was finally making progress when his wife left him and their three young sons. He was a single father confined to a wheelchair and tortured by his pain. At this very dark, very low point, Morgan found light: Napal, the black Labrador who would change his life forever.
A Dog Called Hope is the incredible story of a remarkable service dog who brought a devastated warrior back from the brink. It is the story of one funny, lovable dog’s power to heal a family and teach a wounded man how to be a true father. It is the story of an amazing dog with boundless loyalty who built bridges between his wheelchair-bound battle buddy and the rest of able-bodied humankind. It is the story of how one very special dog gave a man’s life true meaning. Humorous, intensely moving, and uplifting, Jason and Napal’s heartwarming tale will brighten any day and lift every heart.more
A Dog Called Hope: A Wounded Warrior and the Service Dog Who Saved Him by Jason Morgan and Damien Lewis is a well written, moving true story.
While on an anti-narcotics raid, special forces warrior Jason Morgan parachuted into a Central American jungle. He’d served with the famous Night Stalkers on many such missions, but this assignment ended badly for Morgan. Months later he regained consciousness in a U.S. military hospital, paralyzed from the waist down, in chronic pain, and with no memory of what had happened to him.
In the meantime, Jim Siegfried, a Canine Companion for Independence (CCI) puppy trainer, was assigned a dog to raise and train. In the eighteen months Jim would have Napal, a black Labrador Retriever, the pup learned to respond to thirty commands and be prepared for the next training sessions to meet special-needs recipients. It’s a tremendous sacrifice for puppy trainers. The bond between trainer and pup becomes very strong and giving up the dog is heart-wrenching. Some dogs don’t make the grade, but those who do become a life-line to veterans and the disabled.
Jason Morgan’s life spiraled downward to the point of his having no hope. This once-active career military and family man’s life as he knew it ended with his massive injuries. Jason’s life took a remarkable turn when he learned about CCI. He was given Napal and after the two trained together at a California CCI facility, Jason was able to respond to his family’s needs and know real happiness. Not everything ran smoothly in Jason’s life, but with Napal he was again able to find humor, companionship and meaning in life.
A Dog Called Hope is a remarkable story about the strong bond between man and dog. I learned how intensely trained CCI service dogs are and how they can change lives. Although the dogs cost about $50,000 to raise and train, they are free to the recipients. The book opened my eyes to the challenges a wheel-chair bound person faces. But a canine companion does more than pick up dropped objects and open doors. Their constant presence helps build confidence, open up new possibilities, all the while providing unconditional love and joy. I highly recommend this touching and often humorous book.
I have read a number of books about service dogs for the disabled to gain understanding of what trials people can overcome and how service dogs improve their lives. The inner strength many disabled people display learning to live full lives astounds and inspires me. Knowing what it’s like to lose a pet dog, it must be devastating to lose a service dog who is so much more than a pet. This is a well written account of one man’s life leading up to acquiring his service dog and what they accomplished together.
This is a true story. It is about an incredible dog who saves a man. The wonders and challenges they face together are amazing. This is about reality. It is a story I will never forget.