A North Carolina veterinarian is being honored for her innovative work to improve the lives of both military veterans and shelter dogs.
Terry Morris, DVM, PhD, founded the nonprofit Vets to Vets United in 2012 at a time when she was looking to transform her life. After earning her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology, she’d spent over 20 years in research—and was completely burned out.
So she prayed.
“I said, ‘Lord, I don’t want to see another piece of DNA or a Petri dish or a cell. Please give me something that I’m truly, truly passionate about,’” she tells Rover.
That night, the Durham resident happened to watch a TV program about incarcerated individuals training service dogs for military veterans with disabilities. She knew there was a large population of veterans in North Carolina. She knew North Carolina has one of the highest euthanasia rates in the nation.
She spent time researching whether there were any local programs pairing veterans with service dogs and discovered that there weren’t any.
“That was it. That’s when I decided: I’m done with research. I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but I’m going to start a program where we can actually rescue dogs,” she recalls.
Vets to Vets United was born.
For Pets and Vets, a Win Win
Matching rescue pets from high-kill shelters with veterans in need of service animals just made sense.
“North Carolina has one of the highest euthanasia rates in the whole country. These are perfectly healthy dogs and [it’s] not because they’re bad animals…It’s simply due to overpopulation,” she says. “And that is totally unacceptable to me.”
The program Dr. Morris created is unique in that it works to rescue dogs, and then train them for service work in partnership with the veterans who adopt them. Most service dog programs match already-trained dogs with veterans or other individuals with physical and/or emotional disabilities (such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and depression).
With Vets to Vets, the dogs and their handlers work on the training together, a key component so the dog and handler learn to trust one another, and for the veterans to develop patience in the process.
“They’re dogs, they’re not robots. They don’t know what you want them to do, but they’re willing, they want to learn, and they make a lot of mistakes,” Dr. Morris says. “You can’t get angry with them. You have to be patient and loving and persistent and consistent in your training in order for the dog to be able to perform the way that you want them to.”
Once a dog and veteran have aced a 2-week trial adoption period, the duo works toward passing a public access test and then starting a special stage of their training together—therapy dog training.
The veterans take their dogs to visit hospital and hospice patients, senior daycare facilities, adults with intellectual disabilities, schools, and other veterans.
In the meantime, the dogs continue developing service dog skills tailored to the needs of their handler. Small dogs can provide emotional support as psychiatric service dogs, while larger dogs might provide stability for veterans with mobility challenges. (Vets to Vets United rescues a variety of breeds and mixes; as Dr. Morris notes, “We’ve had a Bichon Frise, which is a very small lap dog, all the way up to a Mastiff.”)
The rescue dogs learn skills like opening and closing doors, retrieving medicine and heavy items, removing socks and other clothing, and pushing special buttons to call 911. They’ll go get help if the veteran falls or faints at home or in public, search a house or room before a veteran enters so they know it’s safe to do so, and wake them up from nightmares. Plus, they offer a reason to laugh and exercise.
“There are all types of services,” Dr. Morris says. “In fact, we’re going to start training for diabetic alert because we have three new veterans with diabetes.”
A Healing Journey
In making the choice to transform her own life, Dr. Morris created a program that has transformed the lives of 180 veterans, their families, and shelter dogs.
Sometimes veterans who could only shop in the middle of the night to avoid crowds can start grocery shopping during the day, attending baseball games, or even playing sports again.
“These are places where the veterans are becoming more independent and having a purpose in their lives,” she says. “The veterans give back the community and it helps them as well because it is so heartwarming to know that you’ve helped somebody else today. That just makes you feel so good inside.”
Dr. Morris, who runs the program full time, loves seeing the healing that can take place with family members, as working service dogs can relieve pressure on caregivers and loved ones as well. She’s amazed by the power of the human-canine bond.
“What impresses me most is when a dog stops a veteran from committing suicide,” she says. “That is, of course, the ultimate gift. We have had several veterans who have said, ‘If I didn’t have my dog, I wouldn’t be here today.’ So that’s what catches my heart most.”
A Gold Star Legacy
As a veterinarian and Gold Star Daughter, Dr. Morris loves working to help animals as well as veterans. In fact, she’s dedicated Vets to Vets United to two special veterans: her father, William C. Morris, an Air Force Captain and Tuskegee B-52 bomber pilot who was killed during the Cuban Missile Crisis when she was just three years old, and her sister Karon D. Morris-Crawley, who was five when their father died.
“My sister followed in my father’s footsteps, so she’s also a Tuskegee pilot,” she shares. “As a matter of fact, she’s the first female to graduate from the Air Force ROTC pilot training program at Tuskegee. So I dedicated the program to both my father and my sister.”
While honoring her father and sister, Dr. Morris herself has been honored with numerous accolades over the years. Most recently, the ASPCA awarded her the Henry Bergh Award—named for the man who founded the ASPCA in 1866—for exhibiting exceptional leadership, compassion, and commitment to animal welfare. She accepted the award on October 12 at the ASPCA 2023 Humane Awards Luncheon in New York City.
The ASPCA Humane Awards seek to celebrate the important and “often lifesaving” impact animals have in our lives, according to Joel Schwartzberg, senior director of communications for the ASPCA.
“Dr. Morris is doing a very heroic thing: she’s combining her interest in helping veterans and her experience in helping animals, both of whom need that help very much,” he tells Rover. “Dr. Morris leads with her heart, as many of our winners often do.”
He noted that like Henry Bergh, Dr. Morris is propelled by her passion not just for animals but for elevating the human-animal bond to help both humans and animals. It’s the type of comparison that fills Dr. Morris with pride and humility.
“Henry Bergh saved so many lives in the past and is still saving them today, even though he’s no longer here,” she said. “So it’s truly an honor for me to be able to receive an award in his name, and I am determined to honor his legacy and continue this work.”