NEW ORLEANS -- It's less than an hour before kickoff Sunday, and outside the Saints locker room military veteran Erick Scott and his service dog Gumbo are waiting for a very important hand shake and thank you with Saints head coach Sean Payton.
Gumbo is a rescue dog trained by K-9's for warriors to help veterans like Scott cope with post traumatic stress disorder.
Scott got Gumbo because of a donation by Payton's Foundation, and this weekend he got to say thank you in person.
"It's one thing to say thank you in an email," Scott said. "You can say thank you through posts and all that, but to actually then shake his hand, explain to him what it really means, not just what he's heard or what he thinks."
Scott and Gumbo were Payton's guests all weekend, more than he ever could have imagined.
"Oh, it was amazing," Scott said. "Generally down to earth. Him and Gumbo were actually on the playing field wrestling yesterday. Gumbo was licking him all up and down, so you can tell it was from his heart, not just trying to make a statement."
Kind of hard to put into perspective where you have a weekend where you come to New Orleans, meet the Saints coach on Saturday, go to practice, come to the game on Sunday and go to the pregame speech with Saints head coach Sean Payton. And it's your birthday.
"It's definitely made the cake of all the birthdays, and I appreciate it. I appreciate it a lot."
Just as we are of those who serve.
