THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Danville American Legion Post 210 Cmdr. Bob Balla, left, shows Vietnam veteran Don Reid and his service dog, Butter, the donated trailer for hauling a mobility scooter that was given to him Friday outside the post.
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DANVILLE — Once you’re part of the Mission K9 family, you’re always a part of it, and you look after each other.
That warm, heartfelt sentiment from the group was felt even in the cold Friday when the American Legion posts in Danville and Georgetown worked together to surprise Marine Corps veteran Donald Lee Reid, 78, of Westville.
“What is going on?” Reid, who served in Vietnam, asked when he was directed to look outside while at Danville American Legion Post 210.
There, he saw a trailer for transporting a mobility scooter that had been given to the post and was being donated to him.
“Oh, wow,” he said.
The donation of the trailer to Reid was a few weeks in the making. Post 210 Cmdr. Bob Balla called Post 203 in Georgetown after realizing his post didn’t have a veteran in need of the trailer.
The Georgetown post is home to the Mission K9 Warrior program, which provides service dogs at no charge to fellow veterans suffering from PTSD.
Mission K9 Warrior Board Chair Neal Stephens said Reid came to mind immediately as someone who had a scooter, and the trailer would be perfect for him.
Reid’s wife, Diane, was then clued in. She kept the secret for a few weeks, eventually getting her husband to go to the Danville Legion post by saying a few friends wanted to see him. The Reids stopped by Friday on their way to visit a grandchild.
At first, Reid didn’t believe they were giving him a trailer. He said, “you’re serious?”
“I appreciate that so much,” Reid told them, adding that he loved it.
This wasn’t the first surprise for Reid from Mission K9. He was also caught unaware last fall when the group granted certification for his service dog, Butter.
“Don is Graduate 30 for our dogs, and when he graduated from the program, it was in September when we were doing our yearly fundraiser,” Stephens said. “We held his graduation off so we could do it that day, and he came up on one of those little scooters. And then I taught his dog to ride on the scooter with him.”
Stephens said when he got the call from Balla about a potential recipient for the trailer, Reid “came right to mind.”
Stephens took the trailer to the Reids’ house Friday and was going to teach them how to use it later on.
“Some of us go above and beyond to make sure our guys get taken care of, especially our Vietnam vets,” he said. “They were treated like crap.”
“I appreciate that so much,” Reid told them, adding that he loved it.
This wasn’t the first surprise for Reid from Mission K9. He was also caught unaware last fall when the group granted certification for his service dog, Butter.
“Don is Graduate 30 for our dogs, and when he graduated from the program, it was in September when we were doing our yearly fundraiser,” Stephens said. “We held his graduation off so we could do it that day, and he came up on one of those little scooters. And then I taught his dog to ride on the scooter with him.”
Stephens said when he got the call from Balla about a potential recipient for the trailer, Reid “came right to mind.”
Stephens took the trailer to the Reids’ house Friday and was going to teach them how to use it later on.
“Some of us go above and beyond to make sure our guys get taken care of, especially our Vietnam vets,” he said. “They were treated like crap.”
Diane Reid said the trailer will definitely be beneficial to her husband, especially when they go camping. It can also be modified so that Butter, whom he’s had since March, can go behind it.
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