Paws of War's Nesconset expansion a boon for vets, and their potential pets

After Vietnam War veteran Steve Gordon lost his East Moriches home to foreclosure, he needed to find a place to live for himself and Bear, his 14-year-old service dog and constant companion since the Labrador retriever was 9 months old. 

Gordon, emotionally distraught after the death of his wife, and physically unable to continue as an insurance underwriter, moved out in January.

At first, Gordon, 68, said Tuesday outside the Nesconset-based Paws of War, finding suitable quarters that would allow a pet proved difficult. 

"Bear and I almost ended up homeless," he said. 

Expansion celebration

Gordon, who has since found temporary housing for himself and Bear, was among a crowd of more than 100 veterans, advocates and elected officials gathered at the organization's headquarters on Smithtown Boulevard Tuesday morning to celebrate its expansion.

Life on the street for Gordon and Bear was averted with an assist from Paws of War.

The nonprofit that for the past 10 years has specialized in pairing veterans and first responders with service dogs "was more than happy to board" Bear until Gordon could find them a home, said the Coast Guard vet, who served from 1972 to 1997.

Paws of War, which offers service dogs it rescues and trains, took over an adjacent storefront to expand by creating offices for its veteran advocates and case managers, as well as therapy space for its clients.

"The new space gives us the ability to reach so many more veterans that are in crisis," Paws of War cofounder Robert Misseri said.

Crisis encounters

The crises Paws of War representatives often encounter when matching a dog include some veterans contemplating suicide because of post-traumatic stress disorder or feelings of isolation, officials with the organization said.

Over the past decade, Misseri said, they've encountered more and more veterans already or in danger of becoming homeless, and limited incomes and other economic factors are not the only concerns.

"We started hearing about a veteran living in his car or her car and they had a dog," Misseri said. "It wasn’t because they didn’t have money for an apartment, it was because they couldn’t find an apartment that would allow a dog."

The true number of homeless veterans on Long Island is "very hard to track," according to Marcelle Leis, the director of the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency. From January through September, the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless counted 206 adult-only veteran households and 12 veteran households that have at least one child served in emergency shelters throughout Suffolk County. Those figures were 281 and 12 last year.

In Nassau, the coalition counted 20 adult-only veteran households in Nassau County emergency shelters from January through September. Last year, it counted 31, plus an additional veteran household with at least one child.

For Gordon and Bear, home for now is United Veterans Beacon House in Bay Shore, which he said he found through the VA. 

Gordon said he is one of approximately 10 veterans currently housed at the two-story facility. Some vets are doubled up, and Gordon is no different except for his roommate, Bear.

Bear steps up

He shares common areas with his fellow veterans but he hopes not for too much longer. Gordon said he is in the process of finding permanent housing partly covered by the VA and remains optimistic he'll find a place in the next six weeks.

He described himself as a "river rat" on a ship in Vietnam, manning a 50-caliber machine gun.

That, and other experiences in the U.S. Coast Guard, both in Vietnam and years later when he took part in the U.S. invasion of Grenada, contributed, Gordon said, to his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, which is where Bear comes in.

After Gordon and his late wife, Sarah, adopted Bear, he soon realized his labrador could be trained and certified for service based on how the dog's reacted to his needs.

“He alerted me one night when something happened,” Gordon recalled. “If I was having a restless night, he would get up, turn a couple of circles … put his feet on Sarah, and push into me.”

When it comes to Paws of War's dealings with Bear, Gordon said, they "stepped up and have taken excellent care of him ... They’re like the closest people to my heart."

Leis said her department helps find housing for veterans or directs them to county-run shelters. But she said securing housing along with a pet that is not a certified service animal is "a barrier to many of these programs."

In these instances, Paws of War fosters pets until their vets find a home where they can be reunited. Misseri said the nonprofit will also advocate on the behalf of veterans to get them into a permanent home alongside their four-legged companions, such as negotiating with landlords to budge on no-pet policies.

"For many of our veterans that we serve, that animal is their entire life," Misseri said. "They may not have any family ... They are reaching out to us at the darkest parts of their life ... They’ll go hungry before their dog goes hungry."