Meet the veteran ladies in training at K9s for Warriors, the newest non-profit to participate in the Dog Bless You project. These veterans will spend three weeks at the K9s for Warriors facility, where they’ll learn the skills needed to train their own service canines. 

dogblessusa:

Andrew Goodrich has come a long way since his injury. Having spent 5+ months paralyzed from the neck down, Goodrich is thankful for the ability to walk once again. Now, his walking will be aided by a special companion, Charity. Charity was trained by the prison handlers at the Marine Corp Base Camp Lejeune in the Canines for Veterans program after being rescued from a local shelter. She will help Goodrich by assisting with his balance, picking up dropped items, and make navigation just a little easier. She’ll assist with his PTSD symptoms by helping to keep space between Andrew and folks in comes in contact with in the community.

dogblessusa:

Meet Ace, a U.S. Retired Army Infantry soldier, who was called to duty at the age of 28 in the fight against terrorism. Josue “Ace” Acevedo served in Iraq as an infantryman and gunner. Front line, ready for action, protect America, save lives – that’s ACE. Ace proudly served his country for five years, but after being forced to retire, he was left with scars from which he thought he would never recover. It was a tragic day in battle for Ace when his shoulder and back were severely injured in a Hum-V accident. Ace now lives with a severe spinal cord injury and the invisible wounds of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PTSD. “It was Blip that brought me to ECAD, but Aries gives me purpose again,” Ace said with a smile on his face. Visiting the VA in the Bronx, Ace was discovered by Blip, our resident golden retriever Therapy Dog who has a gift for zeroing in on the person in need of a little extra love and support.

Today, Aries’ proudly serves Ace with leash in mouth standing at the door, telling Ace it is time for them to go out. This specially educated dog reminds Ace to take his medications, which are at significantly lower dosages now. Aries helps to reduce Ace’s back and shoulder pain by picking up dropped objects. In fact, Ace and Aries are on the go all the time now, as good-will ambassadors for ECAD and Project HEAL, as well as advocates for other veterans who are in need of help.

dogblessusa:

Paws for Purple Hearts was the first program of its kind to teach Wounded Warriors with PTSD to train service dogs for their comrades-in-arms with combat-related mobility impairments. Founded in 2006 as a research program of Bergin University, PPH has operated our successful program at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for PTSD, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and continues it’s flagship program at the Palo Alto/Menlo Park VA Medical Center in California. Over 300 Wounded Warriors have participated in our programs and we regularly place these trained service dogs with Wounded Warriors across the country. PPH recently reached a milestone this spring when for the first time, we placed two service dogs (Corporal Niles and Corporal Yoko) with active duty Wounded Warriors from the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force at a ceremony at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. If you’re in DC, be sure to say hi to Niles at the Pentagon and Yoko at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. where they accompany their new partners at work defending our Country!

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Guest post by Paws for Purple Hearts