OUR SERVICES
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF OUR WARRIORS
CANINE-ASSISTED WARRIOR THERAPY®
Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy®, also referred to as Service Dog Training Canine Assisted Therapeutic Intervention, is simple; those with PTSD, TBI and/or MST help PPH trainers with Service Dog training. Soothing, light-hearted contact with PPH puppies and dogs, together with caring and capable trainers, eases a Warrior’s symptom severity.
It helps suffering Warriors learn all over again how to trust.
Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® gently guides Warriors to learn once again how to connect with others, both dogs and humans. Over time, Warriors who participate regain that sense of purpose that comes with accomplishing an important mission – training a lifelong service companion for other comrades in need. After all, the need to serve is built into a Warrior, just as it a dog.
The great part about Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® is that all it requires is a place to work with and care for dogs. At Paws for Purple Hearts, we are flexible on where we conduct Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy®. We can do it at our facilities, at a Veterans Administration (VA) facility, a Department of Defense or related site.
SERVICE DOG PLACEMENT
Like everything else we do at PPH, placing a Service Dog with its ideal Warrior recipient is a science. Using Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and mixes of these two breeds, all of our dogs are bred by Bergin College experts.
Just like a Warrior, a PPH dog is truly born to serve.
Once a service dog is trained and ready to serve, PPH uses Bergin’s scientifically rigorous matching methodology. We test personality characteristics of both dog and Warrior, and match them based on test results. Our disciplined process ensures a successful, lasting, and effective partnership for each Warrior and service dog pair.
Our service dogs are completely trained in accordance with Bergin University’s rigorous professional training processes prior to being matched with the Warrior the Service Dog will be placed with for the remainder of its life. Please note: Paws for Purple Hearts does not work with individuals to train their own dogs to become Service Dogs.
FACILITY DOG PLACEMENT
Impacting hundreds of people daily, the aim of the Paws for Purple Hearts’ Facility Dog program is to spread love and joy throughout a health/human services care facility. Together with its handler, a highly trained PPH dog roams a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center, a military hospital or a similar facility.
Our dogs provide a friendly face to engage patients, families and staff. With a loving shake of a paw, they lift moods and boost morale. With a gentle snuggle, they build a welcoming atmosphere and promote healing. A PPH facility dog provides the real comfort of home for those who unfortunately cannot be.
A PPH facility dog’s caregiver is the prime contact person and handler at a host facility. The caregiver manages daily activities and routine dog care, while PPH staff provides support as needed.
ELIGIBILITY
Service Dogs
We place service dogs with Service Members and Veterans facing challenges such as:
– Mobility issues. Our dogs can help with tasks such as: retrieving items, pushing buttons for elevators and doors, turning lights on/off, plus many more.
– Diagnosed trauma-related conditions (PTSD or TBI). Our dogs help by performing a variety of tasks specifically designed to reduce symptom severity.
Through our thorough application process, our qualified staff determines if a PPH service dog will be a fit for your specific needs.
Facility Dogs
Facility dogs are placed with managers who work in care facilities that serve Service Members, Veterans, and/or military families. They are also placed with counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists (and other specialists) who serve military-connected individuals and wish to integrate a dog into their clients’ treatment plans. Facility dogs provide invaluable benefits to the populations they serve, but they do not meet the legal definition of a service dog and do not have public access rights outside of their assigned facility. Facilities must serve at least 50% of military-connected individuals to qualify.
DONATION DOLLARS AT WORK
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With a recurring gift of just $19 a month you will ensure a Service Dog has all of its vaccinations, training equipment and of course toys to get started in their life altering education.
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Your gift of any amount will be a tremendous help to our Service Dogs in Training. It costs $52 a month in dog food for just one dog.
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Paws for Purple Hearts Dog are trained to the most exacting certification because our Veterans deserve the best. Thanks to donors like you, they will never have to pay forany of our services. It costs more than $35,000 to raise just one dog to this high standard.