Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/713076
August, 2016 l Working World l WorkingWorld.com 9 SALES WITH A PURPOSE TRAINING PROVIDED EARN FROM $13 TO $15 AN HOUR This position offers flexible hours to meet your schedule. Performance bonuses provided. We offer a position with meaning, that helps the environment and children, all while making money. Please contact David or Dilan with inquiries at 866-874-6759 ext 202. Cell Funds is currently hiring for sales positions which have unlimited earning potential. needs a little help with life's logistical challenges, like opening doors, turning on a light switch, or picking up items that have dropped to the floor. An added bonus: the dog also becomes your devoted friend for life. "These dogs can really sense your mood. They know when you're having a bad day," said John Crofut, a 71-year-old Vietnam Veteran who is training a male Lab named Ibarra. "They give you companionship without judgment. Ibarra doesn't need to know why I have the symptoms I have. He just wants to be with me." Crofut said he volunteered for Palo Alto's service dog training program because he wants to help his fellow Veterans who went to war but, in his words, "didn't come back whole. "It's very rewarding for me to train a service dog for another Veteran," he said. "It's a good way for me to give something back. "Plus," he added, "I just like dogs." "He's a really smart dog," Crofut said. "He knows a ton of commands. If you tell him to go pick up his leash from the floor, he'll pick up the leash and bring it to you. He has a wonderful temperament." SOME COMFORT HERE The Veteran said he and Ibarra go everywhere together. "On Thursday mornings I cook for a bunch of World War II vets at another part of the complex here at the Menlo Park VA," he said. "So Ibarra goes there with me. He even sleeps in my room at night. Right now I'm not sleeping so well, so sometimes he'll come over and rest his head on my bed. He'll try and comfort me in some way." "The dogs can help relieve symptoms of hyper vigilance," explained Melissa Puckett, a recreation therapist at Menlo Park. "They allow you to disarm, to let your guard down so you can get a better night's sleep. Puckett said the future service dogs also serve another major role in a Veteran's recovery process. "Once you're out of the military, you can sometimes start to question who you are and if you still have a purpose in life," she said. "Training a service dog gives you purpose, focus and a sense of accomplishment. It reminds you that you have value, which you can still contribute, that you have something to give." To learn more about how VA is helping Veterans with PTSD, visit www.ptsd.va.gov. Veteran John Crofut poses with his canine pal, Ibarra, who has since graduated from his service dog training at VA's Menlo Park campus. Crofut now has a new furry friend to train, a four-week- old pup named 'Puckett.'