All eyes were on the yellow Labrador retriever keeping watch over the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush following his death Nov. 30. The bittersweet image of Sully H.W. Bush lying beside his commander in chief was viewed by millions of people around the world.
Bush had suffered from a form of Parkinson’s disease, and Sully was with him until the end.
Sully was trained through a program funded in part by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program. Therapeutic service dogs trained through programs such as this one provide critical support for wounded, injured and ill veterans and troops seeking to lead more independent lives.
Already famous in his own right — his Instagram account, @sullyhwbush, has more than 260,000 followers — Sully will go on to join the therapeutic dog team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, after the holidays, where he will provide stress relief and comfort to service members going through physical and occupational therapy.
For more information about Sully and the USUHS service dog program, click here.