In service to those who served: Nobody’s better than Ezra Animals

A trained “facility” service dog, Ezra is the partner of Ashley Kitchell, the operations manager at Liberty House. A program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, the cheerful yellow house provides substance-free transitional housing for male veterans who are in recovery, and supports struggling and homeless veterans in the community with food, clothing and transportation.

Ezra is there for them all.

The name Ezra means “help” in Hebrew, which seems apt for the 2-year-old golden retriever/Lab cross.

On a recent rainy morning, Ezra proudly showed off a new toy — an orange stuffed fox — as he greeted residents, drawing smiles all around.

“It’s amazing what a dog brings to an organization, just the calming,” Kitchell said. “It’s amazing to see the guys interact with him.”

Resident Doug Grant, who served in the Army National Guard in his native Massachusetts, said Ezra is his “first pet.”

“It’s nice having a dog around,” Grant said, stroking the dog’s big head. “Really nice.”

Another resident, Sheldon Wright, a native of St. Louis, bent over to hug Ezra. “He is the best,” Wright said, scratching under the dog’s chin, finding just the right spot.

An Army veteran, Wright grew up in a military household. His grandfather served in World War II. “He made a name for himself,” he said.

Wright landed at Liberty House after hitting some hard times. “I was down on my luck,” he said. “I was going through some trials and tribulations.”

“When I got here, I was basically a shell of a person,” Wright said. “My confidence level had depleted so far, it was hard for me to even focus.”

Liberty House was the right place for him at just the right time, he said.

“The best way I can say it is they love me and so I learned to love myself,” Wright said.

Ezra is a big part of that.

“He brings positivity,” Wright said. “He doesn’t change. He’s always happy to see me and the rest of the guys as well.”

“When you’re having a bad day, he lifts your spirits,” he said.

About 18 months ago, Kitchell happened to meet two volunteer “puppy raisers” for Canine Companions, a national nonprofit organization that provides trained service dogs for adults and children with disabilities and for veterans, free of charge. She decided to go through the rigorous application process to get a service dog for Liberty House.

And in May, she got the call: “We think we have a dog for you.”

Kitchell spent two weeks in July at a Canine Companions regional training center in Medford, New York. The training is mostly for the human team members, Kitchell said; the dogs are fully trained service animals by then. “The two weeks is all about the bonding process and training us how to work with them,” she said.

Six handlers were introduced to nine dogs at the start of the training. Kitchell was “pre-matched” with Ezra, and they spent the first week working together and living together in the dorm.

The handlers then switched off, working with other dogs.

But for Kitchell, it was love at first sight; she knew she wanted Ezra for Liberty House. “His big head, he was so beautiful,” she said.

At the end of the training, they brought in six dogs, one of them Ezra. And when the final pairings were announced, Kitchell had met her match.

Residents of Liberty House huddled together to watch the live-stream of the “graduation” ceremony.

“We still didn’t know which dog she was getting,” Stephanie Murphy, Liberty House’s office coordinator, said. “And then when we saw it was the golden…”

“We went crazy,” Wright said.

Murphy said the moment brought her to tears. “Just knowing that this animal is going to come into this environment and make such a difference in our residents’ and our lives,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful thing, and he’s just such a wonderful addition to our culture.”

Ezra, who goes home with Kitchell after work, was the perfect match for Liberty House, said Jessica Reiss, client services manager for Canine Companions.

The clients are veterans for whom “life has been a struggle,” Reiss said. “So what we’re really trying to do is bring some joy and enlightenment into days that aren’t always great and times that can be more difficult.”

And Ezra is just the right dog for the job, Reiss said.

“Ezra would be a people person if he was a person,” she said. “He’s so energetic and so engaging. It’s really hard to ignore him — almost impossible.”

“Every time I see a picture of Ezra, he’s smiling from ear to ear,” Reiss said. “He is clearly happy, and that’s really important for us.”

Ezra’s training as a service dog includes helping individuals who have disabilities with tasks. The dog can pick up items off the floor, open automatic doors by pushing the button with his nose, and turn on lights the same way.

But Ezra also has been trained to help individuals with post-traumatic stress. “If somebody’s shaking their leg, he’s trained to cue off that body signal and come over and put his head in that person’s lap,” Reiss said.

Veterans struggling with PTSD can be triggered when entering a dark room, Kitchell said.

Now Ezra can go first and take care of that for them.

The dog knows 40 commands, including “visit” (putting his head in someone’s lap), “lap” (pressing the front of his body there), and “cover” (using his whole body to embrace the person), Reiss explained.

“He’s doing it now,” Wright said, as Ezra rested his head on the veteran’s feet.

What does that feel like?

“Warmth. Companionship,” Wright said, smiling down at the big dog. “Sometimes you need that. When you can’t find it anywhere else, at least you know here it’s guaranteed with him.”

That’s the special gift that Ezra brings to the house, Wright said. “It’s unconditional,” he said. “You don’t have to wonder if he’s going to be different the next day.”

A man who recently successfully finished the Liberty House program, and was moving out, stopped to say goodbye to Ezra. The dog brings people together, regardless of their backgrounds or personal issues, he said.

“A dog just shows you love,” he said. “Who doesn’t love a dog, right?”