4 minute read
Helping Paws
Paws for Purple Hearts improves the lives of America’s Warriors (Veterans and active-duty service members) facing mobility challenges and trauma-related conditions such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) by providing the highest quality assistance dogs and canine-assisted therapeutic programs; and by building public awareness about the important role dogs play in helping Warriors along the road to recovery.
At Paws for Purple Hearts, we train and place three different types of assistance dogs. Facility dogs can be found in a VA, DOD, or similar office visiting Veterans to bring joy throughout a facility. Specialist therapy dogs work with a clinician to improve the patients’ treatment. Finally, service dogs are trained specifically for a Warrior in-need.
Service Dogs
Our service dogs learn over 100 commands making them more than capable of serving the most demanding category of mobility impaired Warrior, a quadriplegiclevel patient. This provides the Military Caregiver dramatic respite and logistical relief because our dogs can carry out many routine, repetitive and physically demanding tasks that would otherwise have to be accomplished by the caregiver, including picking up dropped objects, retrieving items, opening refrigerator doors, assisting with undressing, switching lights and other devices on and off, opening and closing doors, providing assistance moving to and from wheelchairs, etc.
We provide our dogs to Warrior recipients and their families, free of charge. This provides immediate and significant financial relief to the Warrior and to their Military Caregivers, as they are not burdened with bearing the cost of our service dogs in order to benefit from the services and companionship gained.
This is a significant benefit given that it takes about $35,000 to raise a top-tier service dog. Our service dogs are also involved in programs throughout their training that help more Veterans other than the ones they are being placed with.
Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy
Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy®is a unique therapeutic intervention. This Program focuses on creating opportunities for positive meaningful interaction with our service dogs in-training. Guided by our highly experienced Program Instructors, in partnership with professional therapists, Warriors get the chance to reinforce commands and behaviors that are vital for a service-dog-in-training.
They regain a sense of purpose in accomplishing a critical mission - training a life-long service companion for another comrade. Through this program, each dog will positively impact the lives of 40 – 60 Warriors.
Social Therapy
Social Therapy uses the unique skills of our service dogs in-training to bring comfort and joy while reducing stress in the lives of America’s heroes. Versions of these programs are developed for both Veterans and active-duty service members. Our trainers and dogs will travel directly to our Warriors for this therapy or we host it directly at our sites. This interaction is also very imperative to our dog’s training, as this helps them learn positive interactions and gets them comfortable with meeting new people.
Meet one of our Warriors
In January 2020, our San Diego site placed Ralph as a facility dog at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinic in San Jose, California. His handler, Lori, has enjoyed watching him excel in his environment where he improves the lives of Veterans through therapy and counseling sessions. Shortly after being placed, the pandemic hit so this affected the way that Ralph was able to interact and make contact with Veterans, but it was actually much more impactful than imagined.
The pandemic was incredibly difficult on healthcare workers, so the staff began spending more time interacting with Ralph during their morning huddles and breaks. His loving and friendly nature gave them a dose of comfort and emotional encouragement while they were busy being healthcare heroes. “From the minute I walk into the clinic, people are asking to meet with him,” says Lori. We love to follow the success of our graduated dogs and hear the touching stories of all the lives that they impact. Watching Ralph has brought us overwhelming amounts of joy.
Community Involvement
In just three years, the San Diego team has hosted over 1,000 hours of Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® for 147 Veterans and Service Members. What started as a small service dog training program from the home of two instructors has since evolved into a 10,000+ square foot facility providing therapy programs and assistance dogs for wounded Veterans.
The San Diego team looks forward to continuing to improve the lives of America’s Warriors thanks to the generous support of our community. “It’s amazing to see how much we have grown and accomplished,” says Selah M., Senior Program Instructor. “I forget that just a few years ago, we were training service dogs from our homes and now we are in this huge facility with dozens of dogs, volunteers, and Veterans coming through our doors every week.”
The dedication and loyalty of our community and supporters keeps Paws for Purple Hearts growing in the right direction. You can find out how to get involved by volunteering or donating on our website,
