June, a jet-black German Shepherd, stands at attention, scanning the perimeter for threats, then checking back in with her owner, noticing every movement and sound. While out and about, she stays completely in the zone, protecting her handler, Chris Wilson, a medically retired Marine. June was trained as a service animal, and her constant vigilance gives Wilson confidence to relax when she is near.
Wilson was active in the Marine Corps from 2015 to 2020. His job was one of the most stressful positions: he worked in Quantico, Virginia, with a unit called HMX-1, first for Obama and then for Trump, guarding and protecting the presidential helicopter. When he was transitioning out of the Marines for medical reasons, it was recommended that he talk to a therapist before returning to civilian life.
“I was seeing a therapist as I was being processed out, because it is a big adjustment. The therapist recommended that I get a service animal to help with the transition, and that’s how I met June,” Wilson said. “It was love at first sniff.”
Wilson has always loved German Shepherd dogs, and June was the perfect fit for him. He has had her since she was just 6 months old and has gone through all the behavior training with her; June has learned to anticipate Wilson’s needs and can sense his mood changes with remarkable precision, even beyond what most dogs naturally do.
Wilson said that anyone who works in security or other intense work environments is susceptible to a condition known as “hypervigilance,” where sufferers cannot turn their work mode off and relax because they have been conditioned to be on alert at all times. June dramatically reduced this type of anxiety in Wilson.
“It’s like night and day — not even close to what it was before her,” Wilson said. “June is at another level of noticing when something is wrong. When I’m on edge, she will immediately come over and sit on me in the heel position to check to make sure I’m OK.”
Because she is a service dog, June can go with Wilson anywhere, including grocery shopping. She wears a special vest that functions like a work uniform: when it is on, June is on, and she will be at complete attention, watching out for Wilson. People should never try to pet a service dog while it’s working, as this can distract the dog from its protective duties. However, Wilson said that once the vest comes off, that is a signal to her that she is off duty, and she becomes more playful and can accept pets.
June rescued Wilson from the emotional toll his job put on him, and he wanted to pay that forward by rescuing another German Shepherd: a Golden German Shepherd, Loretta. Since retiring from the military, Wilson has been working as a personal trainer, and one of his clients was a police officer. This officer started telling Wilson about how he recovered this Golden Shepherd during a drug raid, and he knew Wilson already had one German Shepherd. He encouraged Wilson to take her in and see if he could help her, as she was highly anxious and traumatized.
“I was like, ‘Well, I’ll give it a try,’” Wilson said. “I really wasn’t looking for a second dog at the time because I didn’t want to neglect June.”
Wilson met Loretta and brought a jar of peanut butter to get her to come to him, and he patiently worked to win her trust.
“I got her to lick the peanut butter off my finger, and then she just crawled into my lap and fell asleep,” Wilson said. “She was filthy, so I took her to a manual car wash with the buckets and soap, and I cleaned her off there and took her home. At that point, we both just knew she was home.”
Wilson said that while Loretta is a wonderful companion dog, he does not take her to all of the places he can take June because June is a registered service animal, and Loretta is not.
Adding Loretta to his home has motivated Wilson even more to move forward with his dream of starting a German Shepherd rescue facility in Lebanon. Wilson, who has a business management degree from Regent University, has already written a comprehensive business plan for his rescue facility and is in the process of saving the start-up funds.
“The dream is to create a German Shepherd rescue,” Wilson explained. “The purpose would not just be rescuing the dogs, but rehabilitating them and getting them to a level where they would qualify as service dogs. This would provide service-level animals for military, first responders, or anyone else in a high-stress environment, so that both the dog and the owner would get a second chance,” Wilson said. GN
If you are interested in donating or sponsoring the German Shepherd rescue project, email Chris Wilson at chrisdwilson19@gmail.com
