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What was a hobby soon became an obsession for one employee at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Aurora Community Based Outpatient Clinic. Kris Lohmar was never in the military but became

inspired by the Veterans she interacted with daily as the clinic’s contracted security guard. Wanting to give back, the former wedding photographer began offering to photograph Veterans’

service dogs in the clinic at no cost. “I take the photos on my iPhone and order the prints through a professional printing company,” Lohmar explained. “After putting the photos in frames

that I purchase in bulk, I give them to the Veteran free of charge.” U.S. Army Veteran Don Bozzi was amazed after Lohmar presented him with a framed photo of Shankle, his black labradoodle

and bluetick coonhound mix service dog. “I named him after my battle buddy, Sgt. Joshua Shankle, who I deployed with twice to Iraq,” said Bozzi. “Shankle has been my buddy ever since.” Now,

Shankle’s picture hangs alongside other family photographs in Bozzi’s Plano, Illinois, home. “Kris really captured the essence of him, and it was a beautiful picture,” he said. “When she

told me what she was doing for Veterans and their service dogs for free, I thought that was very special.” Samantha Schramuk, an advanced medical support assistant at the Aurora CBOC, echoes

Bozzi’s sentiment. “What Kris is doing for the Veterans is really special,” said Schramuk. “Seeing the Veterans’ faces when they receive their companion’s photo is priceless.” Dog owners

aren’t the only ones enamored with Lohmar’s photos however. In early September, she placed first at an art competition in Sandwich, Illinois, for a photo collage called ‘Our Other Heroes.’

  Lohmar has photographed nine service dogs since starting in June and hopes to continue into the new year.  “Capturing our other heroes is my way of giving back to Veterans who have given

so much up for us,” she concluded.