Mercy Flight pilot rescuing dogs for veterans with PTSD
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A retired Navy Seal and current Mercy Flight helicopter pilot is devoting his life to helping war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Haji Shareef's career as a pilot began long before he joined the Mercy Flight team. Shareef enlisted in the Navy in 1995 but was officially commissioned in 2001. He started flight school in Pensacola, Florida with a dream of becoming a jet pilot.
"I puked the first 17 out of 19 flights. I did not want to become a jet pilot anymore," Shareef said jokingly. "Then, I got selected for helicopters."
After 9 deployments, several being in the Middle East, Shareef transitioned to the Navy reserve. He began working with explosive detection dogs, where he was reconnected with people he served with.
The veterans were suffering from PTSD and looking for service dogs to ease their transition back into everyday life. At the time, Shareef did not train those types of dogs, so he sadly turned them down.
Within 4 months, 3 of his fellow veterans died from suicide. That's what gave him the motivation to start his own company.
Shareef founded Musketeer Canine LLC and PTSDogs 4 Vets. He rescues hunting dogs from all across the country and trains them as service dogs. He then gives them to veterans for absolutely no charge.
"The dogs that we get donated, it takes about 6 to 8 months to get them trained," Shareef said. "That's mainly because it takes about 2 to 3 months just for them to have the pure confidence and comfort in me taking them into weird places."
Shareef says the training process for service dogs is much different than your average pet. All of the dogs that leave Shareef's training program know how to help veterans deal with PTSD. The dogs wake people up from night terrors and block others from getting too close, for example.
Shareef is also a sexual abuse survivor. He trains all of his dogs to provide comfort to veterans who have also experienced sexual trauma.
"Not only do they help them open up the window when it comes to meeting other people, but they're a guaranteed unconditional love," says Shareef.
On top of being the founder of his own company, Shareef is also a pilot with Mercy Flight, providing air transportation and medical care to all of Western New York. Saturday, Sept. 28 is the annual bash for Mercy Flight, raising money for its operation with every dollar going towards the organization.
"We largely provide our service with donations," said Shareef. "There aren't a lot of events in Buffalo where the whole purpose of it is literally to help the community."
Shareef says seeing the community support events like Mercy Bash is why he's proud to serve Western New York each and every day.
"People kind of joke about Buffalo not being that great of a city and then they come to Buffalo," said Shareef. "They realize we all take care of each other because we're all from Buffalo."
The BASH for Mercy Flight takes place Saturday, Sept. 28, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. General Admission tickets are $15, and VIP tickets are $45. For more information, visit their website here.
Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here.