North Texan veteran and service canine ‘Priscilla' to appear in Rose Parade

If years with a companion represent a journey, then every step Steve Blackman has taken with his service animal "Priscilla" matters.

The golden retriever lab mix provides emotional support and care for the Iraq combat veteran, from helping with picking up dropped keys to staying close throughout the night.

"When I have a PTSD nightmare, she wakes up my wife, who wakes me up," Blackman said. "She's not even trained to do that, that's just how intelligent these animals are.'

The retired Army sergeant served combat tours in Iraq in 2005, sustaining multiple head traumas that he says affected his mood, and ability to be around others and led to increased anxiety.

Blackman says he began to find a sense of belonging when he was paired up with the national nonprofit Canine Companions in 2012.

His first service animal, a black lab named Gottlieb, helped him begin his path to recovery.

When Gottlieb passed away in 2023, Canine Companions ensured his recovery journey continued with Priscilla.

"She's very loving," Blackman said. "These dogs are so much more than what they're trained for."

Next week, a national audience will have a chance to see a glimpse of what makes Priscilla so special.

"It never ever entered into my purview of thought that I would be in a massive parade," Blackman laughed.

This month, Lions International asked Blackman to ride on its float for the 2025 Rose Parade on New Year's Day, honoring those who have given themselves to service.

"I'd like to see it as representing veterans from all around the world," Blackman said.

We caught up with Blackman and Priscilla on Friday where man and companion first met, at the Canine Companions training center in Irving.

The center is one of six centers nationwide that trains service animals for children, adults and veterans living with physical, cognitive, and developmental challenges.

Courtney Craig with the Canine Companions Baylor Scott & White Kinkeade Campus says Priscilla is one of more than 8,000 service animals the nonprofit has trained since starting in 1975.

"It’s extra special that it's one of our clients from here in North Texas who’s going to be on the float that day,” Craig said.

The Las Colinas training center opened in 2015 with support from Baylor Scott & White Health.

"This is my home," Blackman said about the training center. "This is where I belong."

He says Priscilla will be by his side as he rides on the float. It will mark a New Year's Day experience he never imagined possible when he received his first service animal more than a decade ago, but an opportunity he won't pass up.

"It's one of the only ways I feel I can pay back Canine Companions for what they've done for me," Blackman said.

The 136th annual Rose Parade will air on NBC 5 at 10 a.m. on New Year's Day.