Veteran, service dog receive devastating diagnosis
A war veteran says he was close to ending his life before he met a Saint Bernard named Zeus. Now a devastating diagnosis could tear them apart.
Brian Gliba, a combat medic, first met Zeus in 2009 while battling PTSD.
“In 2004 I was deployed to Iraq,” Gliba said. “I was injured while I was out there, came back with some major PTSD issues and shoulder, back and spine issues. I’ve gone through 28 different surgeries and procedures.”
Gliba said at his lowest point he was over-medicated, taking 30 medications at one time.
“I would sleep sometimes 18 to 20 hours a day,” he said. “I was just miserable.”
After meeting Zeus, Gliba found the strength to turn his life around, even going back to school to learn photography.
“People don’t understand that this is the reason I’m alive. He was like true love,” Gliba said. “Basically when Zeus came into my life I was able to start traveling, getting out, experiencing life.”
Gliba began taking photographs of wounded veterans at various veteran events. After one man shared how the photos changed his life, Gliba knew what he would do with his.
“He was getting ready to pull the trigger,” Gliba said. “He had looked up and saw his screen saver on his desk in front of him that had pictures that I had taken of him and he said if it wasn’t for that very second, that he would have pulled that trigger.”
Gliba then started a non-profit called “Project Wounded Ego,” photographing veterans in the hopes of boosting their self-esteem.
“While I’m at these events, Zeus actually acts as their therapy dog,” Gliba said. “People know me because of Zeus. There will be people I’ve never met in my life and they’ll come up to me and say, ‘That’s Zeus! You’re Zeus’ dad!'”
Last week, Gliba noticed Zeus was acting sluggish and had a hard time keeping food down. After seeing several veterinarians, Gliba learned that Zeus has cancer in his stomach and kidneys. Besides not having money for treatment, Gliba said doctors can’t do anything since Zeus isn’t eating.
“He hasn’t eaten in four days now and he’s scheduled for euthanasia on Thursday,” Gliba said. “It’s a shame. I mean, so many people have helped raise money to help get him his health back and if I could just get him to eat we could probably get another two years out of him.”
Gliba hopes Zeus’ life isn’t in vain. After initially dealing with problems finding help with veterinarian bills, he hopes he can one day find a way to help other veterans with sick service dogs.
To read more about Zeus’ battle with cancer and to donate to Gliba’s GoFundMe site, click here.
