on September 01, 2015 at 2:26 PM, updated PHILADELPHIA — It wasn't easy. When Andrew Einstein returned home after his second deployment overseas as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, he admits that like many veterans, he struggled to readjust to a civilian life. But then, Einstein found Gunner. Or, as Einstein tells the story of how the silver lab puppy repeatedly pushed his way to Einstein when he went to match up with a service dog, Gunner found him. "He saved my life," said Einstein without hesitation, as he stood with Gunner just feet from The Liberty Bell, not long after the sun rose over the heart of Philadelphia's historic district. "That's the best way to put it." The powerful influence Gunner has had in helping Einstein, now a Westampton Township police officer, overcome the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is one of the main reasons he met up with fellow former Marine sergeants and current Philadelphia firefighters Devon Richio and Steven Walls at the historic landmark early Tuesday morning.

RELATED: N.J. couple delivers emotional thank you to first responders After hugging family members goodbye, all three set out on a 100-mile journey to the Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan, where they're set to arrive by Sept. 10 and join the FDNY in 9/11 memorial ceremonies. In an effort to raise funds in memory of their fallen brother Marines — as well as awareness about PTSD and the lifeline service dogs can provide to veterans — Einstein, Richio and Walls, along with Gunner, Richio's service dog Kyra and Walls' service dog Ava, will walk about 12 miles a day, staying at fire houses along the way, until they arrive in Staten Island and are escorted into Manhattan on an FDNY fire boat. "I think we're realizing it's bigger than we thought," said Einstein, adding at least 10 fellow veterans have reached out when they heard about the journey — named The Long Walk — and said they'd be thrilled to join next year. The swelling interest in the group's expedition is also apparent when looking at their fundraising efforts as well.

A GoFundMe page set up to go hand-in-hand with the walk has already raised $6,465, more than $1,000 over their goal to raise $5,000 in memory Corp. John Thornton of Kilo company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines who was killed in action on Feb. 25, 2005 in Ramadi, Iraq and Staff Sgt. Christopher Diaz, who was killed in action on Sept. 28Boxer Puppies For Sale Jackson Michigan, 2011 in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan where he was working as a Military Working Dog Handler assigned to a Marine Special Operations Battalion Detachment.Swing Set For Sale Kelowna The funds will be split between an art scholarship set up in Thornton's memory, the Staff Sergeant Diaz Memorial Fund and The Dawgs Project, which promotes and rewards the work of military working dogs.Vintage Lyon Shaw Patio Furniture

"We can't wait to give that money to the families," said Einstein, adding they picked the starting point and end destination because of what they represent to generations of Americans who have picked up arms for their country. "They fought for the Liberty Bell, for Freedom," he said. "We fought for the Twin Towers." His parents, Sylvan Einstein and Kathy Shapiro, said at first they were surprised to hear of the veterans' plans to traverse Pennsylvania and New Jersey on their way to New York, but when they think about the kind of person their son is — Einstein also serves as a volunteer firefighter in both his hometown of Mount Laurel and current town of Riverton — they said it actually makes a lot of sense. "That's him," said his father, Sylvan. "If he's going to do something, he does it big." Einstein, who was also recently honored for his work in helping save the life of a man suffering from cardiac arrest in Westampton earlier this year, said he hopes people look at the three of them, who have all dealt with PTSD, and break the stigma that returning veterans are broken or beyond help.

"That's not us," said Einstein, pointing to the fact Richio has risen to the rank of Lieutenant in the Philadelphia Fire Department at just 24 years old. He also stressed the role their canine partners have played in their successes. The three former Marines could easily make the journey from Philadelphia to New York in a few days if they didn't have to work within the dogs' limitations, but the whole idea was to highlight just how importance service dogs are to veterans like them. "[The dogs] allow us ... a sense of a normal life," said Einstein. Taking care and training Gunner gave him a sense of responsibility, he said, and a friend who can pick up on his emotions, his mannerisms, and be there for him before he even realizes he needs him. "[Gunner] knows me better than I know myself," said Einstein just before he, Walls and Richio posed for a few photos, picked up their packs — and leashes — and headed toward Market Street.Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.

Gypsy the puppy (pictured with a nurse) underwent emergency surgery after swallowing the spoon when her owner left it out She’s only seven months old, so naturally Gypsy the Labrador still has plenty of life lessons to learn. The difference between food and a spoon, as the astonishing X-ray image on the left shows.Gypsy had to have life-saving emergency surgery after swallowing a spoon her owner, Diane Harman, had left on the kitchen worktop while she went upstairs.'The pot in which I kept all the teabags had been tipped over, so I thought at first she had eaten a teabag,' said Ms Harman. 'It was then I noticed the spoon was missing from the pot. I do get the odd senior moments, but I knew it was in there before.'I looked everywhere for it, under the bed, in the dish washing bowl, outside and in Gypsy’s bed.'Gypsy seemed fine, but I began to wonder whether she could have swallowed it.'Ms Harman was due to take another one of her six dogs to the vet so decided to bring Gypsy along for a once-over.

After seeing the spoon in Gypsy's stomach during an X-ray, vets quickly rushed the puppy off for an emergency operation. 'The vet joked he had heard of the saying 'born with a silver spoon in their mouth' but not going the other way,' said Ms Harman.'She needed an emergency operation, as it could have ended in serious problems. 'There was a risk of infection. At the time, you do have horror thoughts through your head, but I did trust the vets.'Vet David Robinson who performed the procedure added: 'The spoon had worked its way through her stomach and into her intestines. Vets discovered the spoon while giving the seven-month-old dog an X-ray Gypsy could have been at risk of death if vets weren't able to retrieve the spoon when they did we had not operated straight away, there would have been a high risk of it perforating the intestine, which could have been fatal.'We’ve taken all kinds of foreign objects out of dogs, but this is the first time we have had to remove a piece of cutlery.'According to her owner, Gypsy is prone to bringing strange objects in from the garden.