By Sarah Roebuck
Corrections1
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — An Army veteran and corrections officer got a cute surprise while at work on Tuesday.
A 25-pound Belgian Malinois puppy named Gunner wiggled his way right up to Officer Keith Lynch while he was working at the Osceola County jail, WESH reports.
“One moment, I thought I was coming up here to do a photo for the division I work for and then I walk in to all this, it was just amazing, it was awesome,” Lynch told WESH.
Lynch served in the Army for four years and has been a corrections officer for 16 years. He has struggled with post-traumatic stress and said he wanted an emotional support dog for a while now.
A breeder who specializes in protection dogs and a dog trainer teamed up to gift Lynch the puppy for free.
“There’s something a dog does. It gets you to wake up every day. You have to feed the dog. You have to give the dog water. You have to walk the dog and you establish a bond with a dog like no other so that is our goal every time we give way,” Brianna Holzerland with Hozerland Protection Dogs told WESH.
“This dog is going to go through protection training, sport training, environmentals. This puppy can go absolutely everywhere, be confident with anything that’s thrown at him. Nothing is better than going through life with man’s best friend,” Kathryn Schreiner with Marsoc’s K9 Training Facility told WESH.