Gnarly and Trae are a team—a man and his best friend, but they are way more than that. Trae is a combat veteran and a retired police officer, who happens to be diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Gnarly is his official service dog, trained and assigned to Trae by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help with the effects of PTSD and anxiety. This means that Gnarly is to accompany him everywhere he goes and to tag along with whatever tasks he endeavors to tackle.
On the subject of how they met, it seems Gnarly was positioned to be noticed at exactly the right time to become part of Trae’s family. Trae had lost his military bomb sniffing dog, Goliath, a few years back, which was a terrible loss. He happened to go to a local feed store for supplies on the same day that they were sponsoring a pet adoption day. Trae describes the event: “There were 15 puppies in a pen and 14 of them were howling and crying. Gnarly was sitting in the corner looking at the other puppies and not making a sound. I told my wife, ‘That one is acting pretty Gnarly, don’t you think?’ Once I picked her up, I never put her down until the trainer from the Veterans Affairs talked to me.” Gnarly wasn’t picked because of her sparkling lineage—she’s a Stafford Terrier mix from a rescue in Sedalia—she was picked for standing out in the crowd and for filling a need for both man and beast.
“Her job is to take your focus away from whatever is bothering you and hopefully put that focus on her.”
How do these two get around? By Ural Gear Up—Trae driving and Gnarly riding along in the sidecar. Trae was a dedicated Harley man before Gnarly came along. Although Gnarly on a Harley does have a nice ring to it, due to her size and in the interest of safety, he couldn’t exactly put her on the back. So, he searched for an alternative and found the Ural with a sidecar. On first sight of the motorcycle, Gnarly spotted a place for herself right off, and hopped in. Problem solved. “While Gnarly loves riding, she is not a big fan of wearing her Doggles or her helmet,” Trae admits. You can imagine the looks they get spotted on a ride and the cameras raised to take a photo. Trae endeavors to explain the effect a daily spotting has. “The motorcycle itself gets attention. Ural riders call it the Ural Delay Effect (UDF). In short, when you go on a ride and stop somewhere, you have to add 15 minutes onto your ride time to explain the origins of the motorcycle. Now I have to add on more time when they see Gnarly sitting in the side car.”
Gnarly literally goes everywhere with Trae. She is a support animal, after all. And it has helped him immensely. For instance, he applied to the United States Post Office for a job with Gnarly in tow. She is part of Trae’s accommodations in the workplace, and the United States Post Office accepted them both. In 2020, Gnarly was approved and certified by a District Reasonable Accommodation Committee (DRAC) at the request of the United States Postal Service. Trae elaborates, “At that time, I was told that Gnarly was the only certified service dog in the Denver Metro area. Since then, there have been a few more certified animals assisting employees with various accommodations that have been approved.”
Although I was hoping for a title like Dog Master or something equally intimidating, Gnarly was not given any official title by the United States Post Office other than “Service Dog” and, of course, Trae’s best friend and constant companion. Regardless of Gnarly’s title, it’s a truly great program that helps on a very real level. Trae explains how it works in a shortened version. “I am a disabled combat veteran and retired police officer. I currently work for the United States Post Office. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 2013. I was having a difficult time coping and I ran into a fellow veteran who fosters puppies until they are adopted. This fellow veteran talked to me about adopting a dog and having the VA train it specifically for me. I adopted Gnarly and got approval through the VA to have Gnarly as my medical device. Currently, veterans who are issued “Service Dogs” no longer have to pay for the adoption or training.”
A typical day for Trae and Gnarly plays out like this: “While Gnarly is my service animal, she serves a dual purpose for my fellow employees. Gnarly is very keen on stress and anxiety. While she will not touch my fellow employees and does not allow them to touch her, she will get their attention by walking close to them. This is her indicator that she detects stress or anxiety. Her job is to take your focus away from whatever is bothering you and hopefully put that focus on her. In that brief moment of distraction, she has now interrupted, what we call in law enforcement, an OODA Loop (observe, orient, decide, act). Just a second of distraction can make the difference between a bad decision and a worse decision. Gnarly accompanies me to other offices and is by my side when we do inspections.”
At work at the Post Office, Trae attests that Gnarly has learned the voices of several of the Central City regular customers, and when she clues in, it isn’t uncommon for her to jump up to greet them. I’m sure she has her favorites too. But she is allowed to be creative in her down time at home. She loves the visits from Trae’s granddaughters (aka Sticky-Fingered Humans), enjoys running the fence line with the neighbor dogs, and displays all her idiosyncrasies like loudly sighing when her meals or snacks are lagging. Like most members of the canine family, Gnarly’s tail does most of the talking when expressing her true feelings about anything and everything.
Although Gnarly does have the important job of being Trae’s service dog, the duo enjoys a certain celebrity status. Outside of this article and illustration, and the constant thumbs up gestures from people spotting them on the road, accompanied by the snapping of photos, Trae adds, “Gnarly and I have only been featured in a 2025 Ural Riders Calendar. Other than that, we keep our paparazzi guessing where we will be next.” Although, Gnarly is the reigning winner of “Best Dressed Pup” two years in a row for the Gilpin County Rec Center 5K Turkey Trot.
If you are intrigued and think you can learn where to find them, he adds, “Seeing us in scheduled spots is almost like trying to catch a shot of Bigfoot fly fishing.”
I asked Trae what else you, the readership, would want to know. This is his response. “I am proud of being a combat veteran and a retired police officer. I am happy that the United States Postal Service gave me the opportunity to thrive within the organization. It is mentally difficult sometimes to venture out and be seen in public fearing that people will not want a person with disabilities around them. Not only did USPS hire and accept me, I have been encouraged along the way to not let any obstacles keep me from upward mobility. I was awarded the title of Postmaster of Central City, CO in May 2022. Without the encouragement and support from the local residents of Gilpin County and USPS, I would not be where I am today. Having Gnarly by my side has kept me focused and she deserves all of the credit. Gnarly and I attend various hiring events for USPS and I have had a few new hires tell me that it was comforting seeing that an employee with disabilities was hired.”
Thank you, Trae and Gnarly, for sharing your story with us. It is a truly inspiring tale of why we have such a love for dogs, and it should be celebrated.
