USD Magazine Summer 2019

here’s Riddler the Labrador and Marlow the Lab mix, Benny the cattle dog and [ g a m e c h a n g e r s ] Shelter to Soldier pairs rescue dogs with veterans in need SAVING LIVES (TIMES TWO) T who suffered a brain injury after a roadside bomb went off feet away from his Humvee. Like too many others, they came by Timothy McKernan

retired, Mia, a chocolate lab, became Vic’s companion. “I wish there was something more I could say than ‘thank you’ to Shelter to Soldier,’ Martin says, who created the organization’s logo and now serves as its direc- tor of veteran services. “I am so very grateful for the gift they have given me. It is my life.” Bloem, who earned USD degrees in Spanish and biology as well as a master’s in nutrition- al science from SDSU, met Graham while working at a pet resort. It didn’t take long before their shared love of animals was coupled with a mutual desire to give back. That meeting of the minds resulted in the founding of Shel- ter to Soldier in 2012. Graham is president and training director; Kyrie serves as the organization’s

erans and active duty members of the United States military take their own life. And every year, 1.2 mil- lion dogs are put down because of medical or behavioral problems — or simply because there is no place for them to live. The need is mutu- al. “It’s what we mean by ‘saving lives two at a time,’” Bloem says. Martin “lived on his couch and was afraid to go to the mail- box,” Bloem recalls. “When he arrived, he was shaking and stuttering so badly we could barely understand him.” He was matched with Kira, a pit-bull mix, and when she

Penny … well, your guess is as good as any. Each of those dogs, yearning for a life of purpose in a forever home, has been caged with a clock ticking. Despite impassioned efforts to bring the number to zero, some 1.2 million dogs are euthanized every year in the United States. And there are people like Vic Martin, a Navy veteran with depression so deep he hadn’t left his house in six months. People like the Marine Corporal

home with poisoned souvenirs of war: post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury. And the nightmares. Oh, were there nightmares. Shelter to Soldier, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Kyrie (Baca) Bloem ’10 (BA) and her husband, Graham, trains dogs from local rescues as service companions and matches them with military veterans in need. Each day, an average of 20 vet-

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