Training Rescue Dogs as Service Dogs for Veterans

This Sunday, November 11th, is Veteran's Day. This day is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended the World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in 1918. Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all military personnel who served the United States in all wars, particularly living veterans.

Every day should be Veterans Day. Every day we should thank the brave men and women who risked their lives so people living in The United States of America, and people of other nations, retain freedom. So many of these people return home with wounds that will never heal, their lives will never be the same. 

Sparing the life of a shelter dog, making sure it is healthy with some good basic training, and placing it with a veteran in need of companionship is a small gift for those suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an invisible disease, you would never know by looking at someone how much they are suffering. It is also a disease of isolation, anxiety, depression, hyper-vigilance and difficulty sleeping. Men and women from WW2, Vietnam, The Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan suffer with PTSD, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children of these veterans also suffer, their lives and relationships changed forever.

If you know a vet, thank them for their service, if you see a vet on the street, thank them for their service. These special people need to know they are not forgotten, this Sunday and everyday.

Please make every day Veterans Day.

Thank You,

Cathy King

Links:

• Stephanie and Fly
• John and Indy