Leslie Smith and Isaac with actor Gary Sinise at an event in Los Angeles in October.

Smith is an Army veteran who contracted a blood disorder while on duty in Bosnia in 2002. She lost her left leg as well as the sight in her left eye. Overcoming very long odds, Smith survived but has had to adapt to life with disabilities.

‘‘I first heard about service dogs at Walter Reed Medical Center. I was waiting in line behind a wounded warrior who had a dog. We started talking and he told me getting a dog had literally saved his life,” said Smith.

The soldier, who had suffered injuries including the loss of sight in his right eye, told of how he’d recently tried to cross a busy Georgia Avenue, but was stopped by the dog and avoided being hit by a vehicle.

‘‘He said the dog helped see what he couldn’t. It made me start thinking that having a service dog might help with some of my struggles,” said Smith.

Hard to believe, but Isaac was only days away from being euthanized at an animal shelter in Myrtle Beach, S.C., when he was rescued and taken to Wilmington, N.C., to train with the Marines. Prisoners at the Camp LeJeune brig, under supervision from Marine prison officials, work with service dogs to train them to help with many everyday activities.

‘‘When we hear of dogs that are potential candidates for our program, we visit them at shelters and they’re given a temperament test as well as a health screening, and if they qualify, we bring them to Camp LeJeune for training,” said Pat Hairston of Carolina Canines for Veterans. ‘‘The dogs receive three months of training from the prisoners at the Camp LeJeune brig.”

Hairston advised that the dogs are not the only ones that learn. ‘‘Having the dogs in the prison is amazing therapy. We’ve seen so many Marines who were on medication for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that no longer need the meds,” said Hairston.

Once the dogs go through training, they are partnered with a wounded warrior. They are then trained alongside their new master to fine tune the needs of their new owner.

‘‘Isaac can do laundry,” said Smith. ‘‘He picks things up, carries things, opens doors, opens the refrigerator. He brings me what I need every morning to put on my prosthesis,” said Smith. ‘‘We have bonded so much. I can’t imagine not having him with me.”

In addition to his service, Smith said his companionship is priceless.

‘‘Of course I enjoy the help he provides, but having him with me is reassuring. I have security and stability with him. He stays close to me at all times. He helps with my balance, and helps me see things I can’t,” said Smith. ‘‘There’s truly no better friend,” she said.

Isaac is special for many reasons, not the least of which is his ability to adapt to lots of different environments. Smith, who travels extensively on behalf of many organizations including Iraq Star Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Operation:Heroes, AW2 (Army Wounded Warrior Program) and Disabled Sports USA, has found that Isaac is a great traveler.

‘‘He flies in the bulkhead area. The airlines are all very accommodating and make sure we’re both comfortable when we fly,” said Smith.

He was with Smith in Los Angeles recently as she walked the red carpet at an Iraq Star Foundation (an organization that provides surgery to scarred and disfigured military members) fundraiser with ‘‘Days of Our Lives” star Deirdre Hall.

‘‘She just loved him,” said Smith.

Service dogs are becoming more involved with Wounded Warriors, not only to help compensate for physical disabilities, but to assist military members as they work through PTSD issues.

‘‘The dogs here work with handlers, but the handlers take the dogs with them everywhere in the prison,” said Hairston.

‘‘This means that others have the chance to interact with the animals. Their presence definitely changes the environment. The dogs even go into counseling sessions with other prisoners,” said Hairston. ‘‘It gives the prisoners an opportunity to interact in a way they can’t with humans.”

Though there are a number of programs in the country that train service dogs, the Carolina Canines program is the only one allowed to operate in a military prison.

While the dogs are a priceless asset to many Wounded Warriors, there are costs involved. Carolina Canines for Veterans accepts donations to offset the medical and training costs incurred after rescuing dogs for the program. Visit their Web site at www.carolinacanines.org.

As for Smith, she and Isaac are a team for the ages.

‘‘I find myself petting him all the time. I don’t know how I did without him for so long,” said Smith.