Brian Jarrell enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 2001, never knowing his service to our country would change his life, significantly. While deployed to Haiti and Fallujah, Iraq, Jarrell served as an ambulance driver and supported operational needs for humanitarian work. In September 2005, Jarrell returned to the states and started showing signs of PTSD, major depressive disorder, anger, insomnia and anxiety. Deployed again in 2006, Jarrell to Al Asad, Iraq, where he was a vehicle recovery operator. After his tour in Iraq, he became a Marine Corps recruiter and while on recruiting duty, Jarrell's symptoms became increasingly worse and he started getting help at the local Veterans Administration Medical Center in Syracuse, New York. After three months, he was sent to the Wounded Warrior Detachment at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. There he received treatment for his symptoms and in April he was sent to the Wounded Warrior Battalion-East aboard MCB Camp Lejeune for continued therapy. After learning about Carolina Canines for Veterans, Sgt Jarrell working with his case manager at Wounded Warrior Battalion-East, applied for a service dog.
On November 14th, Brian met Jada, a Boxer-Labrador mix rescued from Adopt-An-Angel, a Wilmington based rescue group. Jada was with Adopt-An-Angel for several months; she was a real handful and often overlooked or her trial adoptions did not work out. There was a reason for her not being adopted and when Carolina Canines was in need of another dog for the training program, her mission to serve a service member through her training in the Carolina Canines for Veterans program was realized. Jada was in training about 14 months including the transition time due to the program relocation to the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston.
Brain and Jada spent an intensive week of team training in Charleston so he could learn to work with his service dog. Jada will work specifically to help mitigate Sgt. Jarrell's issues related to PTSD. Of his new partner Jarrell says, "Me and Jada are starting to really bond. I am having a great time with her. She is a true blessing. I really need something like this in my life."
To read more about the placement, visit
Carolina Canines for Veterans is proud to serve our service members that need the assistance of a quality trained service dog. Thank you to our volunteers, supporters, funders and fans for helping to make our mission possible and allowing us to serve our community.
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