Scott Montgomery was born in Peoria in 1956. His family lived in Princeville, so Scott went to Princeville Grade School and graduated from Princeville High School in 1974. After graduation, he decided to join the Air Force, receiving his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. During his stint in the service, Scott was stationed in Thailand, Germany, Florida, and Korea. While in Korea, Scott was in an accident and lost most of his hearing. With only 20% of his hearing, he was honorably discharged from the Air Force as a disabled veteran.                

After coming home, Scott went to college on the G.I. Bill, first attending ICC and then moving on to ISU for his bachelor’s degree in Math Education and later a Master’s in Education Administration. It was at ICC where he met, fell in love, and ultimately married his partner for life, Lori Crow, who was there studying to be a Dental Hygienist.

Scott and Lori moved to Peoria where he taught math for 11 years at Loucks School. Moving up the ladder, he was Assistant Principal at Richwoods High School for 9 years, and over the years Principal at White, Mark Bills, Lincoln, and Woodrow Wilson Middle Schools. Later, he also substituted as an assistant principal at Dunlap schools several times. During that time teaching they moved to Chillicothe and had two daughters, Jennifer and Danielle, and they now have six grandchildren. After 33 years Scott retired from teaching in 2014.

Scott has been a member of Chillicothe Christian Church since 1978. During those years he was an Elder for 30 years and an adult Sunday School teacher for 40 years. He is still an active member at the church today.

As his hearing loss progressed, he and Lori talked about getting a hearing service dog. Lori researched and found the America’s Vet Dogs on Long Island, New York. They called and talked to them about Scott’s need for a hearing service dog. They applied and were sent a ton of paperwork to complete. He sent in VA doctor’s records, made videos of himself walking his property, and lifting weights to show he was physically able to control a dog. 

The organization gets about 1800 applications a year and only picks 60. “We applied in June, were accepted in July and in October we flew to New York to start our two week training and meet our dog. I can only say it was all in God’s timing, that the process that sometimes takes years, only took a few months,” Scott stated.

Service dogs are trained from birth to eight weeks and then go to a puppy trainer until they are 16 months old. They then come back to New York for more specialized training. Dogs are trained as guide dogs for PTSD, hearing, and physical stability. The organization pays for all expenses for the vets and, if needed, a spouse or companion. Lori was able to go along with Scott to go through the process. After Scott had completed his training, that is from 6:30am to 8:30pm every day, Scott was matched with a dog for his exact disability.The organization prides themselves in matching a dog with each veteran.

Lily is a beautiful, black Labrador Retriever and was trained to be a hearing and PTSD dog. Asked what Lily does for him Scott replied, “If someone knocks on the door, rings the doorbell, or if a smoke detector, a timer, or alarm goes off she alerts him. If someone calls my name, she comes to get me. She has my back all the time. She is always by my side and goes everywhere with me. At a restaurant, she sits under my chair and stays there most of the time. If you didn’t see her come in, you don’t know she’s there. She is comfortable anywhere: on an airplane, at a social event, or at church.” Scott’s daughter Danielle has gone through the training with America’s Vet Dogs to be a puppy raiser and is awaiting her puppy.

When Lily has her service vest on, she is working. You are not to pet or play with her and she knows this. The American Disability Act requires them to pass a Public Access test to be a certified service dog team. Scott also gets a Zoom call once a month from the organization to ask questions or see if they are having any problems.

Lily weighs 65 pounds and they want her at that weight. She gets fed twice a day an exact amount. No table scraps! They were told that this regiment would add two or more years to her life. 

When Lily is home without her vest on, she is a loyal pet that loves to get her tummy rubbed and be petted. Scott says, “She has made a tremendous difference in my life. We have all bonded with Lily and she is part of our family now—we are so thankful we have her.”