One Navy gunner’s mate found his own new mate: an ex-stray named Honey. This is his story as told by his wife, Heather.
My husband Eddie is currently in the field and he’s not much of a story teller, so I figured I would share our pet adoption story.
A dog named Diesel makes a house a home
Eddie has been in the military about 10 years and we have been married almost eight years. We also just bought our first house a little over a year ago and we are loving it.
We waited many years to get a dog, and finally got one after Eddie was in a bad accident and had to get up and start walking again. We got our first dog, Diesel, at 8 weeks old. He hated when we went to work or just went for ice cream. So we contemplated on whether to adopt [another dog].
I was about to start a new job and would be gone most of the day again. The discount on the adoption fee and the gift card each year [through Pets for Patriots] helped push us to follow through. 
I follow many different shelters on Facebook and found a page made for a dog named Paula. She had been in the Portsmouth Humane Society over a year and I showed the video of her to my husband. We decided to go see her. She ended up being way too hyper and not the right fit for our dog. We walked through the kennels and only picked one to see. Her name was Crumbles and she was in with a five month-old puppy. The puppy was barking, biting her, walking and crawling all over her; she just stood there wagging her tail without a care in the world.
Crumbles fit the criteria for Pets for Patriots and we had them bring her out to meet Diesel. They got along great.
A new best friend for Eddie… and Diesel, too
We talked about it for a week or so, and Eddie finally said he was going to go sign the paperwork so we could pick her up. She walked out of the shelter with us and jumped right into the car. That night when Eddie laid down for bed, she jumped in the bed with him as if she was comfortable already.
There was no adjusting; she was just in our family as soon as she walked through the door.
We were told not to feed them in the same room, not introduce toys, or keep them in the same room for about a month. The first night our two dogs were eating out of the same bowl together. We knew right away that they were the absolute perfect match.
A dog sweet as Honey
Honey [renamed from Crumbles] has become Diesel’s companion while Eddie and I are at work. It wasn’t enough that my dad lives two doors down. Diesel needed someone with him all the time. Honey has allowed us to not feel bad going out, or just going grocery shopping. And she is tougher than Diesel and will protect him if needed. 
The shelter said they found Honey on the street, but she listens very well, is mostly house trained and talks to us when she wants something. She is also teaching Diesel how to talk to us. She even walks on a leash better than Diesel does, and we started training him right away and have had him for a year and a half.
Honey is so loving and definitely protects our home. Honey and Diesel can play with the same rope or chew toy for hours (literally hours, I am not exaggerating). I can’t pick one thing I love most about her; Eddie and I both love everything about her. Diesel loves her too. They are truly inseparable.
Making pet adoption affordable for military families
This program is great if you need a companion in your life. The discounted veterinary care and gift card each year definitely help out. We used ours and still spent an extra $100 on that visit. We like getting the dogs lots of chew toys.
Puppies are great, but you might not have time to train a puppy and this way you can have a trained pet, and have an idea if they will be a good fit for you and your family.
How do the animals in your multi-pet household get along?
I have three cats, one of whom is a foster for a soldier. The older female does not like the female foster, but they are getting better at tolerating each other. The oldest male cat is just mellow and pretty much just puts up with whatever comes. Now, the Pom, Gracie, thinks she is the boss of the cats. She is not. They will all three turn on her in an argument. Little Bunny, a miniature lop ear likes everyone but the cats are a little afraid of him. They can be sitting out on the screen porch and Little Bunny will hop over and lay down, and they will move. Poor Little Bunny. He just wants a friend. But, everyone knows that they have to put up with each other. I have always had animals who were supposed to be enemies, that when put together, somehow get along.