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.
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.
On the day of the match, it was hard to tell who was smiling more—LaShonda or Noelle!
Update: Sadly, Noelle passed away after Hurricane Harvey from medical complications after LaShonda and her family were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.