Lara & Mushu
Passing the Leash
“FSD Service Dog Mushu is like the Buddha,” according to his human partner, Lara. A deep thinker, disciplined worker, and compassionate soul, Mushu is a lot more than a service dog—he’s a trusted friend of Lara’s who accepts her for who she is while helping her become the person she wants to be. That’s just Mushu.
For Lara, each of the three service dogs she’s had, including her current partner, Mushu, have been a lifeline on her journey of healing from the wounds left behind by her years of service in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Without each of them, she doesn’t know where she would be standing today.
Inspired by her grandfather who heroically survived the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Lara joined the U.S. Navy when she was just 20-years-old. She was eager to carry on his legacy of service, but her dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Experiencing traumatic events that left deep scars, she took a step back and moved into the U.S. Navy Reserves. Still, the call to serve hadn’t left her, so she returned to active-duty service as a Fleet Marine Corpsman alongside the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq and Kuwait during Iraqi Freedom. Cross-assigned to a combat unit, she worked as a medic with the 4th Medical Battalion, where she witnessed constant violence, horrific injuries, and death.
When she returned home to the United States after 18 years in uniform, Lara found civilian life strangely empty. She shared, “I learned a lot from the other military members that came from across the country. I was surrounded by really great people and felt protected by the Marines. And then I came home… and that was that. There was just nothing. That was really difficult because all these people I connected with over trauma and situations where I wasn’t sure if I’d come home or not had gone home too. In civilian life, I felt a lack of community and support unlike the sense of belonging I had felt in the Navy and Marine Corps.”
Lara wasn’t just struggling with a loss of community and purpose. The effects of post traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury, and mobility challenges also made her everyday life and work in the medical field difficult. She had also decided to go back to school and pursue a degree in social work, but in her last semester of college, she was diagnosed with breast cancer that was linked to her time in the service.
“When I finally relaxed, it all came to a head…mind, body, and spirit,” Lara said. “I was in my bed one day, all bald and sick with cancer, and I asked the universe, ‘What else do you want from me?’ In that moment, I heard a voice that said, ‘Hey, you’re not alone in this world and it’s going to be OK.’”
That’s when Corpsman, Lara’s first service dog, came along.
Trained by a service dog organization in Texas, Corpsman was nothing short of life-changing for Lara. His steady companionship carried her through the darkest days and gave her the courage and strength to keep moving forward. He was right beside her in the classroom as she finished her degree in social work and found a new calling as an Interfaith Chaplain. Through graduate school, cancer treatments, and working as a hospital chaplain during the COVID-19 pandemic, Corpsman was Lara’s anchor. “It was a warzone at that point in my life,” Lara remembered, “I couldn’t have done it without Corpsman.”
When Corpsman grew older and developed Cushing’s Disease, Lara knew she needed another partner to follow in his paw prints. “I knew without a service dog, I would feel lost,” Lara said. “And then I found Freedom Service Dogs.”
Soon after applying for an FSD Service Dog, she was matched with a bouncy black Labrador named Cayenne. Like Corpsman, Cayenne brought Lara the kind of joy, freedom, and independence only a dog can give. And after their wonderful years together, Lara knew Cayenne was ready to retire and live out her golden years, and she began to prepare her heart to welcome a new partner.
Service dog number three came in the form of a sweet-faced golden retriever named Mushu—an FSD Service Dog who was custom-trained to assist Lara by creating space in public, interrupting anxious behaviors, awakening her from nightmares, picking up dropped items, helping her balance, performing deep pressure therapy, and more.
Even though Mushu was different from Corpsman and Cayenne in a lot of ways, his huge heart and zen personality connected with Lara instantaneously. Within just a few weeks together, it already felt like Mushu had been a part of their family for years. Cayenne happily took Mushu under her wing as a mentor, and within no time, the two dogs became inseparable teammates in supporting Lara.
Lara shared, “Mushu and Cayenne are the best of friends. If Mushu and I are together in the house, Cayenne is also beside me to offer help. Mushu is my service dog in the outside world, but it’s like they’re both my service dogs at home.”
With Mushu always by her side, Lara is embracing more freedom and joy than she knew possible. She has never felt more healed—physically or emotionally. Always able to count on her devoted battle buddy, she goes out more often, reconnects with her community, and cherishes time with her wife and son. She is finding renewed purpose in Mushu.
“There are days I want to isolate and not connect,” She admits. “But people ask about Mushu, and it forces me to get out of my shell. I used to not enjoy going out like this, but I like it now because of him.”
“Mushu is like the Marines I served with,” Lara reflected. “He’s my buddy. We have each other’s backs and we count on each other. He’s taught me to stop living too far in the past or the future and to focus on the world right now. Dogs show us how to be in the present and to not miss the love we have right now.”
From Corpsman to Cayenne to Mushu, each of Lara’s service dogs have led her through hardship and healing, and brought her hope. Together, they’ve shown her that life can still be sweet, full, and beautiful.
This National Service Dog Month, and every month, we honor the game changing impact of FSD Service Dogs like Mushu. For veterans and first responders with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries, young adults with autism, and individuals with mobility challenges that we serve, our dogs are more than assistance animals—they’re lifelines.
Your support makes partnerships like Lara and Mushu’s possible! When you give any amount to FSD today, you can help us change more lives at no cost to those we serve. GIVE TODAY!
If you or someone you know are a veteran or first responder with PTSD or a TBI, a young adult with autism, or an individual with mobility challenges who may benefit from an FSD Service Dog, give us a call at 303-922-6231 or email us at [email protected].
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Published 09/17/2025
Contact Erin Conley at econley@