Jermey and K-9 Pappy

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. and after working through an Associates Degree in Police Science, I thought that I should go and get some experience to help get me hired with a department. So, in November of 1999 I left to step on the yellow footprints at MCRD San Diego. I did four years of active duty Marine Corps Infantry. I did two deployments and the one took me to northern Iraq in April of 2003. After I came home the struggle began. Alcoholism, loneliness, survivors guilt, being lost, lack of direction.... Hit me like a freight train. When law enforcement didn't pan out I had to try and figure out what I was going to do next. So I started to work in bars. It wasn't enough though. I signed up for another two more years in the reserves. I worked my way into a surveillance platoon and deployed again, but this time to more central Iraq. Work was good and I loved my job, but again, when we came home the struggle came on hard. I started at UW Milwaukee and directions varied depending on the semester. I wasn't very good at school generally, but I did pretty well in some classes like Arabic and Literature. I was struggling not only with school but also personally and mentally. I met my Ex who was living in the Twin Cities so I decided to move from Milwaukee to the Cities. I struggled to find work and a career. I realized however that I could still Infantry, so I joined the Minnesota National Guard. Shortly after I started in the guard, I was hired at the Minnesota Department of Corrections. I was finally starting to make some headway, but my alcoholism was still dragging me down. I realized that I needed something else. So I got my little man, Chesty, an Olde English Bulldogge. He was the light of my life. I loved him so much. I worked my way into a Segregation unit and I was content. I even got a deployment out of the Guard. This time I was deployed to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It was weird but interesting. When I came home, my relationship with the Ex. began to degrade drastically. I moved out, took my dog that I purchased, and moved into a house. My Ex took me to court to take money and my dog from me but she lost. During the lawsuit, I got a life altering DUI. I haven't had a drop of alcohol since(thank you Mom and Dad). Things at the prison facility have been continuously degrading since I first began working there, however I enjoyed the fast paced life back in Segregation. The trauma and drama slowly began to chip away at me. The days filled with negativity. Jumping from one thing to the next. Verbal and physical altercations, responding to emergencies, counseling inmates or just having casual conversation with them,would take up my days. My current girlfriend noticed it was taking a toll on me. April of 2022, things came to a boiling point. I had a breakdown. I lost it. The next day I came back to work, thinking I got this. That following Tuesday, I broke down again and walked out of the facility for the last time. I went to a recovery facility out in Utah to get some help. I learned about dealing with the things we go through over the course of our lifetimes. I learned that most of the bigger things we will probably deal with the rest of our days and some things just melt away. There are healthy ways to process things and tools we can use to help get us through our life's journey. After I lost my Lil man, Chesty, in 2021, I lost one of my biggest buffers and tools that helped me get through most things. Now I've decided to bring that back and add to my life. I'm looking forward to having something special in my life again. I love my Girlfriend but life is just better with a dog in it.