LaShonda Johnson served in the Marine Corps for over eight years. During that time, she was twice deployed to Iraq: once in 2007 during Operation Iraqi Freedom and again in 2012 during Operation Enduring Freedom.

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Today she has a very busy life with her three children but she needed a companion dog. She particularly wanted a dog who would take her on long walks and runs.

LaShonda and her children moved into a new house, with a big back yard, just before Paws for Heroes presented her with Noelle, a beautiful white lab shepherd mix. Noelle has the disposition of an angel, and with her snow white coat, looks like one too.

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On the day of the match, it was hard to tell who was smiling more—LaShonda or Noelle!

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Update:  Sadly, Noelle passed away after Hurricane Harvey from medical complications after LaShonda and her family were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.