This is a moving story. Though to be told first that, "Robert Thomas Northcut is a decorated Vietnam Veteran, must be assumed by readers since none have seen his DD-214 (Report Of Separation From Service).
There are just too many vagrants claiming to be Vietnam vets, or just, "Homeless Veterans" than I sense actually would be.
One would hope that the military discipline inculcated into Northcut would have him cleaning up and his act and getting a job so he might better and more properly care for his dog, if not himself, rather than shambling through life as "this shell of a man, forever wounded serving his country in the war in Vietnam" to where "...Neighbors (bring) food for him and his dog and...newspapers to keep up to date."
If I seem hard on this guy, I think it's because he needs to buck-up as a Vietnam veteran...or at least try, rather than continuing to perpetuate this rather well-worn media stereotype.