Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Pete Hansen, left, helps Mark Crawford plant an oak sapling Friday in front of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. Five trees were planted for each branch of the U.S. military.

Five trees, in honor of the five branches of the U.S. military – as well as a dog named Duncan – were planted Friday on the Milwaukee VA Medical Center campus.

The chinkapin oaks – one each for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard -- were donated by Mark Crawford on behalf of his dog Duncan, who is a certified therapy dog. Mark and Duncan work with Veterans on the hospital's palliative care units.

“It’s been a great relationship, and this is nothing but joy for me,” Crawford said before planting the first of the saplings on a sunny but windy morning in front of the medical center near National Avenue. “This is a happy tree.

“It’s a real art and craft, being able to work with Vets … and interact in a harmonious way.”

Crawford joked that while dogs are known for urinating on trees, Friday’s event was a bit of poetic justice.

“Now a dog is gifting back a tree to a property,” he said. “The dog is giving back to the VA.”

Duncan was trained by Pets Helping People, a Milwaukee-based organization that specializes in certified animal-assisted therapy.

As opposed to a service dog, Duncan is a therapy dog, and his job is to bring joy to the Veterans, according to Amy Dodge, executive directory of Pets Helping People.

“Our dogs are there to provide a cold nose and wagging tail,” she said. “Our dogs are there to brighten their day, to give them a little stress relief.”

Before the pandemic, Pets Helping People had a number of dogs and their owners working with patients in the hospital.

“We have lots of people who are very dedicated to helping the Veterans,” she said. “Giving back to this group of people who have dedicated their lives to our country … it’s the least we can do.”

Representatives from Pets Helping People stand with Mark Crawford and his certified therapy dog Duncan during Friday's tree planting. From left are board member Ruth Miller, training and class coordinator Diane Miller, executive director Amy Dodge, Duncan and Crawford.

While Crawford is a managing member of Crawford Asset Management Inc., he also owns an arboretum, where he said he has 100 chinkapin oaks he is giving away.

The trees, native to the Midwest, live upward of 500 years and are known for the sweet acorns they produce – acorns so sweet that Native Americans would eat them raw, he said.

He said his love for trees came from his father, a Navy gunnery officer who grew up in an area of Montana with little water and few trees.

“He always made us, as children, plant oaks as a symbol of giving back to the environment,” he said. “So this is giving back.”

Dodge said Crawford’s donation of the trees on behalf of Duncan was unique and “overwhelming because of the longevity of the trees, knowing they’re going to last 500 years.”

“Maybe 500 years from now someone will wonder who planted this, and they’ll never think it was a dog,” Crawford said.