HANNAH... A FALLEN MARINE'S DOG SURVIVES AND HEALS OTHERS

We became Hannah's owners after rescuing her in September of 2005. Some weird twist of fate brought this dog into our lives which caused paths to cross with so many people now important to us and Hannah.

Hannah lived a happy life in a secure home for six years with her owner, Eric Palmisano . And then Eric joined the Marines. Before Eric left for boot camp his parents told him that if they could find Hannah a good home, they would do so because they are gone too much to be able to give Hannah the attention she deserved.

They found what they thought was a good home after Eric left to become a Marine. Hannah started her new life with a family that had two young boys. They loved Hannah but after about 2 months, their landlord told them they couldn't have a dog.  This was the start of a downward spin for Hannah. That family ended up giving Hannah to someone who they thought would make a good home for her.

This next owner, a single woman, took Hannah for a ride shortly after adopting her in the back of an open pickup truck. While the new owner was in a store, Hannah not being familiar with the truck, jumped out and was hit by a semi-truck. My husband Steve witnessed her get hit and stopped to assist while the trucker never stopped to see how she was. Hannah was in shock and not moving. The Humane Society came after a half an hour to pick her up. Steve left his card with them and said, “Please take her to the vet and if nobody claims her, I'll take her.” She was at the Humane Society until about noon the next day before she was taken to see a vet. Was there still hope for this dog?

The vet tracked down the last owner, who said that she no longer wanted the injured dog. An assistant at the vet's office recognized Hannah and traced records back to Eric and his mother, Bobbie Samme.

They called Bobbie, who was very upset to hear about what had happened to her son's dog. Bobbie wanted to go and get Hannah, but she had heard about a good Samaritan, Steve Beno who had sat on the road with Hannah until the Humane Society picked her up. She learned of his offer to take Hannah if no one claimed her. Bobbie called Steve and the process began for the Benos to become Hannah's new owners.

Hannah was in the animal hospital for 3 days when Steve drove back to get her.  Hannah was badly bruised, had an air pocket on her lung and her front right leg was paralyzed due to nerve damage. 

We made her as comfortable as we could. She could only walk a few steps before she had to sit or lay down. She had no wind and cried every time she moved. It was pathetic to watch, yet we knew we had to keep helping her. It seemed forever but within a month, an x-ray showed that the air pocket disappeared. She slowly started to use her injured leg. The crying was less and less and there was a sparkle coming back into her eyes. Steve took Hannah to hydro therapy to try to help her injured leg heal. The hydro therapy sessions were donated by a caring friend.  And there were massage therapy sessions donated by another caring friend. All of the special care paid off! Hannah was healing and every day she showed progress. It is wonderful that so many people helped us along the way to save this wonderful girl!

Eric's mother Bobbie was thankful for us rescuing Hannah. She sent money to help us out with vet bills. And she sent us lots of pictures of Hannah. We have been e-mailing almost weekly ever since we adopted Hannah. Bobbie forwarded our e-mails to Eric during his deployment. Eric emailed back to tell us everything he could about Hannah and said that it was comforting knowing his beloved Hannah was being well cared for.   Bobbie said that Eric was always happy to receive news about his pup.

April 2, 2006 we received a call from Eric's stepfather, Herb Samme. He told us that Eric was missing in Iraq.  The vehicle that Eric was in had been caught in a flash flood and turned over. It was 9 long days before they found Eric's body. It was very hard on his family, fiancé and friends. 

Steve and I decided that if we could do something to help this family, we would, and we did just that. We brought Hannah to the funeral so that friends and family could “feel” a better connection to Eric through his dog that he raised and loved so much. When we arrived, Bobbie and Herb both hugged and kissed their “Hannah Banana” and I could tell that she was glad to see them. They were so touched to see her! The tears flowed! Also there to greet Hannah were Eric's grandparents and fiancé Claire. As Claire came into the room where Hannah was, I thought she was going to collapse when she saw Hannah. She moved very slowly towards Hannah as she cried and couldn't take her eyes off of her. She stooped down and put her arms around Hannah and just cried and cried! Hannah licked her face and kept licking all the tears away. Hannah definitely knew Claire.

It was totally silent as other people walked in and saw Claire and Hannah together.  It was an emotional sight. Claire got up and hugged Steve and I. She then looked at us through tear filled eyes and said, "Thank you."  Throughout the night, many family members and friends thanked us for bringing Hannah to the funeral home. Hannah's presence helped people grieve over the loss of Eric.  They were so happy to see her knowing that she was a big part of Eric's life and that he was always so proud of her.

The Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcycle riders who block-out protesters at military funerals were at the funeral home the morning of the funereal service. It was a sight to see them all lined up with the American flags waving in the breeze. I bet there were hundreds of them!  The Marines were also lined up along the doorway to the funeral home wearing their dress blues.  Once inside at the funeral service we sat behind Eric's family with Hannah at our feet. The Chaplain gave a wonderful service and even talked about Hannah. And then, each Marine came up one-by-one, to salute Eric's casket that was guarded by two Marines. This took quite some time as they walked slowly and their salutes in slow motion. Row by row, everyone went up to the casket to bid their farewells. When it was our turn, we walked up with Hannah and made a promise to Eric that we would always take good care of his girl. Hannah sniffed the casket and we could hear people crying at this sight. We heard Bobbie say, "Look at Hannah."  It was like Eric's dog Hannah was saying good bye in her own special way.

When we arrived at the cemetery, the Patriot Guard Riders were all there too. After the formal folding of the flag that had been covering Eric's casket, it was handed to Bobbie from a Marine. There was a 21 gun salute that scared Hannah but she got over it quickly. After the cemetery cleared out, Eric's closest friends pulled out a flask and bumped a toast to Eric's casket. They said that they had to have one last drink with him. It was touching to see this.

After the service at the cemetery, there was a luncheon where Claire received a plaque from Governor Doyle declaring flags were to fly at half staff from dawn until dusk. T hen it was open mic for anyone to tell stories about Eric while a slide show ran that included pictures of Hannah from her puppy days to adulthood. 

At the end of the luncheon, Bobbie asked Steve to let people say good bye to Hannah. Although we didn't know Eric, Hannah was a big part of his life and we felt we needed to have her with Eric's friends and family. As we were leaving, I took the American flag scarf from around Hannah's neck that she wore all day in honor of Eric and handed it to Eric's fiancé Claire. She looked at me with such intense feeling in her eyes and thanked me again.

Today, Hannah is a certified Pet Therapy Dog and has been doing therapy work at nursing homes and hospitals. She passed her Canine Good Citizen's test and therapy testing with flying colors. Last year she was honored as the “National Pet Therapy Animal of the Year,” presented in Williamsburg, VA with over 1,000 doctors, nurses and hospital personnel. She wore Eric's bandana that he wore when KIA. Eric would be so proud of her! The love and wonderful training Eric gave Hannah in her first six years shows as she continues to touch so many lives.

By Hannah's Current Owners Jennifer and Steve Beno