Benjamin: Hello. My name is Benjamin, and I'm proud to be a service dog from America's Vet Dogs. Not just because I get to wear this cool vest, but because they brought me to Joe. That's Joe. He's my best friend and my hero and this is our story.

Joe: A guy who's in a wheelchair, especially a loud mouth red headed guy like me, people are looking at you all the time and I usually don't mind, at least, I didn't think I minded until I got Benjamin and a lot of that attention shifted to him. And it made it so much easier for me to feel like I was comfortable in public, because people aren't looking at the jacked up one-legged guy, they're looking at the beautiful golden retriever.

Benjamin: Thanks, Joe. You're not so bad looking yourself.

Joe: My name's Joseph Worley. I was in the Navy as a hospital corpsman, third class, with 21 Marines out of Camp Pendleton and this is my dog Benji. I deployed to Iraq March 1st of 2004. I got hit on foot by an IED. I ended up losing my left leg and getting some pretty good damage to my right leg. Coming home to my family was incredible. I hadn't seen them in so long and I'd been through so much and I was worried about what kind of father I was going to be with my injury and what kind of husband I was going to be. I needed them and I hoped they still wanted me. Is that fun or what?

Benjamin: Joe was joyfully reunited with his family and began his recovery. A couple of years later, they would welcome a fluffy, four legged addition. That's where I come in.

Joe: The application process for America's Vet Dogs is really intricate, because they train each individual dog for each individual veteran. He spent a year and a half of his life training for me, just for me.

Benjamin: Worth every minute. It's an honor to be by your side.

Joe: One of the biggest things that changed after I got Benjamin was an improvement in my ability to walk. I can't really describe how having a dog on a leash can help someone feel safe and stable to walk but, for me, that was a big deal because, if anyone's ever walked on railroad tracks and if you can even get your hand on a leaf up above you or something, you just feel like okay, I got something and I guess that's what it was. He can brace and let me hold onto him. If I go to fall, I could grab him, and I just felt safer and more comfortable with him there, just knowing that I had help if I needed it.

Benjamin: Always happy to lend a paw, Joe.

Joe: Benjamin, bring.

Benjamin: I got this.

Joe: Good boy. I think, for a lot of guys, dogs like Benjamin could literally be the thing that makes them want to wake up in the morning and have a schedule and that cold nose on their elbow could be the reason why they get up and do the things that they need to do. Benjamin, where's my shoe?

Benjamin: Right where you left it, Joe.

Joe: A typical day with me and Benji usually starts with me trying to find my shoe and Benji can help me with that. Good job, buddy. Good job. Thank you. He always looks like he's thinking. His eyebrows are always going up and down and he always just seems like he's waiting on me to do something dumb so he can give me a look like what are you doing? When I go to school, he goes with me. I plan on going back in the fall and he's going to look forward to that because he likes going to school because all the girls flirt with him.

Benjamin: Hello, ladies.

Joe: Benjamin is a part of my family. I can't imagine my family dynamic without him in it. So, he means an awful lot to me. You wanna play tug a war? If I could ask Benjamin three questions, I would probably ask him who his favorite kid is, which would probably be Izzy, because she just dotes so much attention on him all the time.

Benjamin: My favorite? Let me see. Yep, yep, it's Izzy.

Joe: I'd probably ask him what his favorite thing to do is, because he's eight years old and I want him to have fun and enjoy things.

Benjamin: Naps, pets, more naps. I'm a simple dog, with simple tastes.

Joe: I would probably ask him if I've made him happy, if I've done right by him, because he's my friend and he's improved my life and I hope that he feels safe and comfortable around me and that I've improved his life as well.

Benjamin: Well, now, you're making this old dog get all misty eyed.

Joe: I wish that I could express to him how much he means to me, because we always read those things that say, they're only there for a part of yours, but you're there for all of theirs and I'm his whole life and I hope that he is proud of me and that I've made him feel like he's done something incredible in my life, because he has.

Benjamin: Am I proud of Joe? Joe told me once that a hero is someone who does something selfless and who functions even when they are afraid. He may not call himself a hero, but in dog years, I'm older and therefore wiser, and I say he is and I'm proud to be his dog.

There may be small errors in this transcript.