December 5, 2012 - UTI-Avondale Graduate and U.S. Veteran Gets a Little Help from a Four-Legged Friend

Jeremy Mayer graduated in Oct. 2012 from the Automotive/Diesel & Industrial Technology Core Training Program with his service dog, Chelsea, by his side.

After spending 15 years in the Airborne Infantry and completing deployments to Iraq, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia, Jeremy Mayer returned home with a traumatic brain injury, deaf in his right ear and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In his transition back to civilian life, Mayer found calm and comfort in a service dog, Chelsea, who made an incredible impact in his ability to focus, handle stressful situations, manage his PTSD, and ultimately graduate from UTI.

“She’ll come to me and she’ll paw at me if she knows that I’m starting to get a little irritated, and I’ll actually use that as a reason to leave,” Mayer said, describing his symptoms. “Sometimes I’ll have flashbacks just sitting in the classroom, sitting in a car…whatever the case is…and she’ll come up and put her head on my chest.”

Chelsea’s training and match with Mayer was made possible by Soldier’s Best Friend, a local organization that trains and provides service dogs to veterans free of cost. The organization runs purely off of grants and donations.

Mayer graduated from the Automotive/Diesel & Industrial Technology Core Training Program in Oct. 2012, with Chelsea at his side.

With a large community of veterans enrolled in its programs, UTI is committed to working with organizations such as Soldier’s Best Friend, to help its veterans rejoin society and civilian life as seamlessly as possible. Additionally, many UTI campuses have VA resources available to veteran students.

To watch the news segment featuring Mayer and his service dog, Chelsea, visit the FOX 10 Phoenix website – Link.

For more information about UTI, visit www.uti.edu. Follow UTI-Avondale on Facebook at www.facebook.com/utiphx and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/utitweet.