NOVEMBER 2023 20 “Once my captain realized I was qualified, I became a .50-cal. gunner, which meant I had to be ready in case of a serious attack on the convoy. I was constantly being shot at and around suicide bombers,” he said. In one instance, Lance and another soldier were heading into a swap meet to check things out, and the soldier forgot his wallet at the Humvee. “There’s a lot of razzing with each other in the Army,” Lance said. “I gave him crap for forgetting his wallet and said, ‘Okay, I’ll wait here on this curb for you.’” SOLDIER’S BEST FRIEND Valley nonprofit pairs Veterans with service dogs By Mallory Gleich W hen Lance Tudor returned to the States after spending four years overseas with the U.S. Army, he thought everything was fine. He got back into a schedule, working as a professional welder, married his wife, Cam, and started a new life – and yet, there was an unwavering anxiety always present. He tried therapy, seeing a psychologist at West Valley Vet Center for a stint. He just couldn’t get the anxiety, the anger, and the jumpiness to go away – it was always there in the back of his mind. He tried medications, but that didn’t work either. Then, he met a 75-pound pit bull mix named Maggie, and the two of them would save each other’s lives. Lance was born in Florida and raised in California. Growing up, he moved around between family members and was known as the black sheep after his parent’s divorce. He bounced between Phoenix, Montana and Oregon. “I was tired of my autopilot, monotonous schedule, working for a paper company. It was get up, deliver paper, go home. It was so repetitive. I wanted something new. So I signed up for the Army in August and left for boot camp on September 5, 2001. Six days later, 9/11 happened,” he said. Lance was 19 when he left for basic training. “We’re going to war, you guys better be ready, is what they told us,” he said. “I didn’t end up going overseas until two years later.” Basic training and tech school happened in South Carolina at Fort Jackson. Lance’s position was known as 63S HO8 – a heavy-wheeled mechanic and recovery specialist. Once deployed, he was stationed in Czechoslovakia, Bagdad, and outside the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. In talking to the soldier about his experience while overseas, the stress is palpable. It’s not an easy subject to recall, let alone want to remember. Within a minute, the swap meet was chaos from a suicide bomber attack. The pair witnessed people running and people on fire. Lance said that’s one of the situations that “got him the worst.” “If he had remembered his wallet, we would not be having this conversation,” he said. Twenty minutes later, the pizza place the pair had just eaten at also blew up. “We can what-if until the cows come home, but in one day, there were two moments that I could have died. It shook me up pretty good,” Lance said. After four years, he was sent home and was based out of Fort Hood in Texas, returning to Phoenix in 2005. He entered a new industry with a new schedule, and years later, decided to fulfill a childhood dream: Tudor adopted a dog, and in doing so, changed his life forever. “I’d moved around so much as a kid that I never had a dog. My wife has two little ones, but they don’t fetch. I can’t roughhouse with them,” he said. In 2018, the couple went to Maricopa County Animal Control, where they found Maggie, a 75-pound pit bull mix who was on her way to be euthanized. “She was in doggie jail, basically,” Lance said. “To think she was on her way to not existing anymore. It was perfect timing for both of us.” A year after adopting Maggie, Cam suggested that Lance take the pup to Soldier’s Best Friend (SBF), a nonprofit that pairs service dogs with veterans and trains them to work together. “I told Cam I was fine and didn’t need a service dog. She gave me a look that said, ‘No, you’re not,’” he said. His time in the military had left him with anxiety and anger issues, OCD and nervousness around large crowds. Lance gave in, and he and Maggie started their training. Founded by Arizona veterinarian Dr. John Burnham, SBF officially opened in 2011. According to Executive Director Mik Milem, Dr. Burnham had a veteran client who was being deployed and begged the doctor not to let his older dog die while he was gone. “He also had a stepmother who struggled with mental health,” Milem said, “and this led him to start researching service dogs for mental health. It was a new idea then, so SBF was among the first to enter this field.” The dogs come from rescues or shelters across Arizona. The first three months of training center around the Canine Good Citizen test, created and certified by the American Kennel Club. The test includes basic obedience commands and the foundation for service dog work. After a dog passes, they start Public Access outings and tests, where the veteran and dog go to public places and learn to obey commands. Training lasts from six to nine months. During that time, they work in Tasks, which are the specific things the dog will do for the veteran to mitigate the symptoms of their PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. “This includes making space, watching their back, picking things up, waking them from nightmares and providing pressure therapy. They must have at least three tasks down before graduating,” Milem said. SBF Trainer Lynn Woodard worked with Maggie and Lance in 2019; 1.5 hours every Tuesday and Thursday for nine months. When he throws his hands up and curses, Maggie will come toward him instead of running away like other dogs might. Maggie helps him do security checks and will jump on his chest or stand up when she feels something is amiss. Today, Lance’s anxiety has become but a minimal thought in his mind. “My life has improved so much, thanks to Maggie. Going through training, we had goals and a sense of purpose to get through the program together,” he said. “We have a bond that I’ve never had with an animal. Her presence alone is helpful in tough times, and I love her so much.” soldiersbestfriend.org Lance Tudor and Maggie started working with Soldier’s Best Friend in 2018. PHOTO COURTESY OF LANCE TUDOR WE HAVE MOVED 4600 E Shea Blvd | Suite 100 | Phoenix, AZ 85028 NW corner Tatum and Shea | West of Trader Joes 602.955.8700 • FPSAZ.com IN PRACTICE CELEBRATING EXPERT DOCTORS AND PRACTITIONERS. CONVENIENT SERVICES. EXTENDED HOURS. Our Family Caring for Yours

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