‘Man’s Best Friend’ Turned ‘Best Man’: Service Dog Stands by Wounded Veteran at His Wedding

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After high school sweethearts Justin Lansford and Carol Balmes got engaged to be married, Justin knew that his best friend would stand by his side on the most important day of his life.

The groom’s best friend just so happened to be his service dog Gabe.

Justin, now 30, and Gabe first met back in 2012. Justin was in the military, deployed in Afghanistan. Tragically, the soldier lost his leg after an IED exploded and flipped his truck over; he was forced to return to the United States.

“I was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and we were in eastern Afghanistan in early 2012,” Justin told ABC News. “I had bilaterally severed femurs, which resulted in the amputation of my left leg.”

The wounded soldier underwent four long months of multiple surgeries at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland, as per the Daily Mail. The road to recovery was long and arduous; Justin had to battle infection on several occasions.

He was fitted with a prosthetic leg and slowly began the process of learning to walk all over again. It was at this point that Justin was introduced to then-2-year-old service dog Gabe, a recent graduate from the Warrior Canine Connection program.

The program trains service and therapy dogs for wounded veterans who may also be dealing with PTSD. Justin and Gabe were a perfect match, and Carol says they have been inseparable ever since.

Since meeting and matching, Gabe has helped Justin with his mobility and numerous everyday tasks, not all of them physical. “The emotional help he gives me is just as much as the physical help,” Justin told Inside Edition. “It’s really easy to get through a day when I’ve got a smiling face with me. It makes every day worth it.”

In 2014, Justin decided it was time for another momentous change in his life; he proposed to his sweetheart Carol, now 29. Justin proposed on Veteran’s Day, and of course, he had a little help from his best canine buddy. The loyal dog carried the engagement ring box to Carol in his mouth, and she said yes.

The happy couple tied the knot on Oct. 3, 2015, in a romantic outdoor ceremony in Largo, Florida. It stood to reason that the couple’s beloved golden retriever would take a place of honor at the head of the bridal party alongside three groomsmen and three bridesmaids.

“He deserved it. I love him. He’s my best friend,” Justin reflected. “I couldn’t imagine anyone I would rather have next to me than Gabe.”

The service dog was dressed in mock-military uniform studded with service badges for the big day. “He loved having his picture taken,” Carol recalled. “He was going from table to table saying hello to everyone. The whole next day he was exhausted!”

As of 2019, Justin and Carol have been happily married for four years. Gabe is still a service dog for Justin, and the level to which he has enriched the veteran’s life has even prompted Justin to return to the Warrior Canine Connection program, this time as a volunteer.

Justin now fosters puppies for the program. Alongside Gabe, it is the veteran’s job to help to train and socialize the program’s latest cohort to get them ready for their future missions to assist wounded veterans in their homes. The duo are truly paying it forward.

According to Cesar’s Way, Justin and Gabe bonded with one puppy in particular, a young dog named PJ that was coincidentally homed just across the street from their residence. Now Gabe has a sweet new neighbor and playmate just feet from his own front door.

But by far the firmest of Gabe’s friends is Justin, the man whose side he hasn’t left since 2012. “Gabe goes everywhere with Justin,” Carol told The Dodo. “They are pretty much joined at the hip.”