Disabled US Army veteran Jared Goering was kicked off the North Wildwood boardwalk in New Jersey this past week because he was walking with his service dog.
Goering has served 19 years as an active member of the US Army including one tour in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. Speaking to NBC4,0 the vet says couldn’t sleep the night of the incident because he felt so “disrespected” by the North Wildwood police officer who removed him from the boardwalk.
According to Goering:
“Just like any veteran with disabilities with a service dog, to come back and be harassed and shown no respect, it upset me – it really bothered me. I was up most of the night thinking about it.”
The Army vet and his wife were served with a summons because of the service dog’s presence on the boardwalk.
According to Jared’s wife Sally the incident with the officer couldn’t have gone any worse:
“He mockingly asked if all veterans get service dogs. His dog is medically necessary and he is a service dog.”
Jared requires the service dog because of a 2009 incident in Afghanistan when his vehicle was blown up by IEDs, twice, within 36 hours.
The service dog helps Jared navigate, walk, and get up and down stairs.
Adding insult to injury, Jaren explains:
“I also suffer from PTSD, severe anxiety, depression – and my dog plays a big part in my life. His main purpose is mobility but he also helps me with all my emotional problems from combat.”
The service dog incident went down on the 26th street North Wildwood boardwalk.
The police officer issued the summons even after the couple showed the dog’s service identification card.
Do you think the police officer made a mistake in kicking the Army veteran off the boardwalk because of his required service dog?
