PHOENIX — A Valley veteran is giving back to a special community member in a unique way by donating a free service dog!
Brandon Hayward, the owner of Steadfast Mechanical, a local HVAC company, spoke with ABC15 months ago when he wanted to gift a fully-trained service dog to someone who has served in the military on Memorial Day.
The service dog, a 10-month-old German Shepherd named Woody, was trained at Dog Training Elite in Mesa since our original reporting and was provided to the veteran at no cost.
Through a Valley-wide search, they found Marine veteran Scott Flansbaum who suffered a spinal cord injury during his service and recently lost his service dog five months ago. Today he welcomed Woody into his life at an emotional presentation in Tempe.
“It's everything, I mean it will absolutely, one hundred percent, change my life, it will help me get back in the fight, because I have been struggling since I lost mine,” said Flansbaum.
Watch the video in the player above to see the veteran being gifted the service dog.