Let me introduce you to my friend, George Brintenzhoff. I met him years ago when we were Nursing colleagues in the Emergency Department. George is a team player, he enjoys caring for others and he was a pleasure to work with. One night everything changed. I came on shift when George ran into the Emergency Department asking me to go to triage and sit with a child while he finds out why she is here”. Someone had dropped the child off and was leaving and when George confronted the person, he was held at gunpoint as that person got away. These are events we train for, but never really expect them to happen to us. We hid the child and then I went to check on George. I wish I could tell you that this story ended well. But it had a tragic outcome. Those details and the events of that long night left a mark on George’s heart that would have a profound impact on his mental wellbeing and future. When we as caregivers are called to help and protect and train to save lives, but sometimes the impact left on us leaves a stamp that sometimes just doesn’t heal. George did the right things. We were debriefed, there was counseling and then back to the routine of working in the ED which never was routine again. This was a traumatic event, and it changed George. Later he would be diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic-stress-disorder) and he would spend years trying to overcome. George is not a weak man, but he is human. George tried to overcome and continued other avenues of working as an RN but he found himself unable. But that’s the thing about PTSD, it doesn’t go away. It creeps into your soul and can disable the person you once were. Like many other people before him and many we all know in our day-to-day lives, depression and self-medicating with alcohol became his new normal. Please don’t judge this man, many of you understand, and a few of you have walked in these shoes.

I’d like to fast forward to the man I know and call my friend today. George has been sober after a long battle to climb out of this dark place. He is kind, he is creative, and he now has started a hobby he would like to turn into a business. He does woodworking and makes signs and engraves many things.

When we began the Deutsch-Hund-Haus program, one of the purposes in our hearts was to help others in need find a quality, trainable, healthy dogs who can meet the standards of a service animal or ESA. George has one of the Deutsch-Hund-Haus puppies from our latest litter. He named her Pretzel, and she has already made a profound difference in his life, helping to start lifting his depression and caring for her has given him a purpose.

But he needs help. I am asking others to participate in a go-fund-me for George to raise $5000 so that we can partner with an organization that works with owners to train their own service dog which is customized to aid George in his specific physical needs.

Forever grateful for your consideration on behalf of George,

Gretchen Deutsch