Meet Ed and service dog Judge
Ed Monroe & service dog Judge
Portland, Tennessee
Ed kneels with Judge, his service dog, on the Southeastern Guide Dogs Campus.
Ed Monroe served as an artillery and military security officer in the Marine Corps for eight years and as a tactical psychological operations soldier in the Army Reserve for six years. During those 14 years, he spent time in both Iraq and Afghanistan and earned the Bronze Star Medal, the nation’s fourth-highest combat decoration, for meritorious service in Afghanistan.
A self-proclaimed “snooze-button addict,” Ed was surprised by Judge. This energetic black Lab service dog and his ability to get him to rise and shine has already delighted Ed’s wife of 21 years. “She said that’s what I need,” he says laughing. “Judge is so excited to wake up that he pushes me through my morning routine. I finish in 15 minutes instead of an hour.” Ed also noticed that in addition to Judge helping with his PTSD and anxiety, he slows down Ed’s walking pace. “I have a significant spinal injury that gives me a hitch in my step when I walk fast, which I tend to do,” Ed says. “Judge slows me down, and my limp is less noticeable.”
Judge will accompany Ed to work every day where Ed is a senior national service officer for the Wounded Warrior Project in Nashville. “He’s a calming presence,” Ed says. “And I won’t be stuck by myself in traffic anymore.”
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