Gardner 10-year-old wants to donate a service animal to a Grundy County veteran – but she can’t find one

Bristol Sjostrom sold 8,000 extra boxes of Girl Scout cookies hoping to cover the cost of a service dog for a Grundy County veteran or first responder.

The key word is “extra.” The 10-year-old Gardner resident sold a total of 22,775 boxes this year, 21,557 in 2021, and 10,000 in 2020, said Bristol’s mother, Marie Sjostrum.

The service dog’s training costs $7,000, Sjostrum said.

However, Bristol and her mom can’t seem to find a Grundy County resident to sponsor.

The family has reached out on social media and contacted local veterans groups with no luck, Sjostrum said.

“We know there is a need out there,” Sjostrum said.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, service dogs help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder by elevating their mood, reducing their stress and getting veterans outside to interact with people. Furthermore, a well-trained dog knows to obey orders, which puts veterans right in their comfort zone.

The topic of service dogs and veterans first came up in 2020 at multilevel Girl Scout Troop 75466 in Mazon, which Sjostrum leads and of which Bristol is a member.

The troop discussed the many ways dogs helps humans, from police dogs to therapy dogs to service dogs. From there, the troop decided to sponsor a veteran for a service dog, Sjostrum said.

The girls sold a total of 30,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to pay for the service dog’s training and worked with the Plainfield-based K9s for Veterans to ensure a Grundy County veteran received a service dog.

As a result, Rocky, a pitbull-lab mix, went to Zack Jett, 32, of Coal City, who is now the Midwest spokesman for K9s for Veterans.

Jett said he wanted to become involved once he saw and experienced the benefits of service dogs for veterans.

“And there are definitely veterans in [Grundy County] that need more of that support system behind them,” Jett said.

Jett said the K9s for Veterans program is good for veterans and good for the service dogs, who are rescued from kill shelters.

“The dogs get free food and medical care for life,” Jett said.

Jett said he spent time in Afghanistan during his Army service from early 2010 to the end of 2014 and has since struggled with PTSD.

He said his wife reached out to Troop 75466 after she saw a Facebook post about the troop wanting to sponsor a veteran for a service dog.

Bristol said service dogs can help veterans who have PTSD.

“If he has a night terror, the dog licks him awake,” Bristol said.

Bristol enjoyed the experience so much that she wanted to donate another service dog this year, her mother said.

“The other girls in the troop wanted to do something different,” Sjostrum said. “So she decided to get a service dog on her own and raise the money to do it for her bronze project.”

Girl Scouts in fourth and fifth grade can earn a bronze award for community service projects, according to the Girl Scouts website.

Bristol also attended a training session in Cicero a few weeks ago, where she saw the proper way to hold a leash, which she is practicing at home with her dog, she said.

“That’s the hard part about finding a veteran,” Sjostrum said. “They have to get to Cicero to take the training.”

But the effort, for Bristol, is completely worth it.

“Because of how happy it made Zack and Rocky,” Bristol said.

For information or to suggest a Grundy County veteran or first responder for a service dog, call Marie Sjostrom at 815-830-1713.

For information on K9s for Veterans, visit k9sforveteransnfp.org.