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Justin Lansford just married the love of his life, and his best man wasn’t a man at all. His therapy dog, Gabe, acted as best man during the wedding ceremony in Largo, Florida.
The U.S. Army veteran met Gabe when he was paired with the golden retriever after he sustained injuries in Afghanistan.
"I was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, and we were in eastern Afghanistan in early 2012," he told ABC News. "We struck an [improvised explosive device], and it flipped my truck completely. I had bilaterally severed femurs, which resulted in the amputation of my left leg."
When he returned to the U.S. to recover at Walter Reade National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, he was introduced to Gabe through the Warrior Canine Connection, an organization that connects trained service dogs with wounded veterans.
Gabe regularly helps Lansford with daily tasks like retrieving items to help Lansford put on his prosthetic leg and helping him stand from the ground. But this past weekend, Gabe helped Lansford with a whole new set of tasks—serving as best man and ring bearer.
The golden retriever also helped Lansford in his proposal to his girlfriend and high school sweetheart, Carol Balmes on Veteran’s Day 2014.
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