Jim Brakewood Jr. can look like some kind of scary dude. At 6’2″ old, muscular, wild long hair and a matching beard, he’s got a pretty stout body. It’s as if a Viking decided he wasn’t ready for Valhalla and decided to visit Instagram instead.
However, he has a soft spot for dogs. In particular, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Amora.
Jim has seen war. During two tours in Iraq, he went to war, he was wounded and lost friends. On his second tour, Jim was shot in the head in Mosul, but somehow survived and returned home. He earned a Purple Heart, but was diagnosed with PTSD and like many of our veterans, he turned to alcohol and contemplated suicide.
However, his warrior spirit wouldn’t let him give up.
Jim realizes that he is on a dangerous path, has made the wrong choices and is determined to change. After a while, he felt that a puppy could help with his PTSD training. He recalls the day he went to a humane society to adopt a puppy and met Amora, a three-legged Staffordshire Bull Terrier,
“On the way back to check on the puppies I took Amora with me. She just had her right leg amputated on her back, she has a cone shape [on] and her bandages/stitches are still new. She tried her best to get up and see me and I could see how much it hurt her but she didn’t care and I fell in love right there.”
As we all know, Pit Bulls usually have a bad rap. Marked as an “aggressive breed,” they account for 40% of the 1.5 million dogs that die in shelters each year. Even seeing like a Pit Bull can mean a long stay in a dog shelter, or worse, an immediate death. However, Jim was not worried. Moved to tears by the little dog in her surgical hat, he decided to take her home. She settled down, climbed into his lap and fell asleep. Jim marked the event with a photo – Amora sleeping and him smiling happily, even with tears in his eyes.
The moment Jim captured in the photo turned out to be a huge moment,
“I know my life has changed. I can’t kill myself anymore. I knew I had to survive to protect her and make sure she was okay. She needs me. I need her. ”
Amora arrives at the shelter after being in a car accident. Her leg was injured beyond repair and had to be amputated shortly before she met Jim. She’s not a “service animal” or a “therapy dog” the way we usually think of them. Jim says:
“I trained Amora in almost no way. She came when I called her and that was as far as I understood… She is not officially called a ‘service animal’. She cuddles by my side when I need it and I don’t even ask, she knows when to give me space somehow, she gives me purpose and direction in life.”
“She kept me company, gave me a best friend… I don’t think I can stress enough how much she means to me and how much she has helped me. I wake up in the middle of the night if she stops snoring.”
– War Beard (@JimBrakewood) April 12, 2017
“…She gave me the will to live. My 5-year relationship ended, I was completely closed and completely isolated outside of the gym and my PTSD and TBI symptoms and problems became increasingly overwhelming. I can’t enjoy everything anymore, I have no motivation for anything…”
“…And somehow she changed all of that.”
Just got home with a homemade duvet for my little princess Amora!!! pic.twitter.com/osPOSwftXu
– War Beard (@JimBrakewood) April 10, 2017
“It’s hard to explain… when I brought her home, I just knew I had to protect her and give her the best life I could. And I can’t be selfish and kill myself anymore, she needs me.”
Update: Shortly after Jim shared his story with us, he lost Amora to a tragic accident. She is remembered every day and fondly remembered as a bright spot in his life. He went on to rescue the Pit Bulls, and saved Logan shortly after losing Amora.
You can keep up with Jim and Logan on Instagram.
See more photography by Joseph Gianetti Jr. in PhotographingStrength.com
