A United State Marine Corps veteran who lost both legs in a motorcycle accident in September 2015 will get a special companion this Saturday, May 13.
Beth Wiggins, who attends Unity Baptist Church, will be presented with the canine companion, a service dog named Berlin, during a ceremony to be held at 11 a.m. at the church, located on U.S. 31 in Atmore.
The specially trained service animal is a gift from Rebuilding Warriors, a California-based non-profit that provides highly trained and socialized service / companion dogs to honorably discharged veterans who are amputees, as well as those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Wiggins, a USMC corporal who served two active-duty tours, lost both legs as a result of a September 2015 mishap that occurred on the I-65 General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge (commonly called the Dolly Parton Bridge) when she was riding her motorcycle, on the way to her job as security supervisor at the Airbus factory in Mobile. She was reportedly hit from behind by a car that then ran over her.
The veteran, who attended high school in Atmore and now reportedly has moved back here, spent about two months in a Mobile hospital before eventually having both legs amputated. She has progressed from a wheelchair to prostheses and recently spent nine weeks in Texas learning how to use the artificial legs.
The public is invited to attend the ceremony this Saturday.