Last month, Stiggy's Dogs won $25,000 through Home Depot's "Aprons in Action" contest. The group trains shelter dogs as service dogs then pairs them with veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries.
Benjamin Castiglino or "Doc Stiggy" served as a corpsman in Afghanistan until he was killed in 2009 at 21-years-old. Now, his mother, Carrie Castiglino, is carrying his legacy through Stiggy's Dogs.
"He'd be so proud. He'd be very proud," said Carrie. "The legacy still lives on with my son. He's still taking care of his service members."
Hundreds of volunteers from Home Depot rolled up their sleeves to give back to those who have given up so much more a complete transformation including:
- Wheelchair accessibility projects
- Landscaping
- Expansions
"Because they're out here and their doing all this, the manpower and the hours, and the money, it's taken a huge burden off of us. It's able to kind of shoot us fast forward," said Founder Jennifer Petre.
They're projects that would have taken years. to complete and with a waiting list of some 30 vets, it means they can now focus on what's important: pairing them with dogs.
Eric Brown is a veteran who served in Iraq in 2005 and says he's doing better in part because of the dogs. He says he's thankful for Stiggy's.
"I instantly had a connection with Patton and they placed him with me about a week later and he's been with me ever since," said Brown.
"We're rescuing one to rescue another and not just because of the dogs and the veterans, but because of the community and our vets helping vets and I think this really simplifies all of that. It really does show how we're rescuing one to rescue another here," said Petre.
"One thing a mom never wants to happen is for her son to be forgotten and for his legacy to be forgotten. And it wont ever be this way," said Carrie.
The help from Home Depot Thursday was also apart of their Celebration of Service day. From September 11th to Veterans Day, they'll do 300 service projects for veterans.
For more information, you can visit the Stiggy's Dog website.
