Below is a brief summary of how one person’s selfless donation helped move along training timelines for one of our veterans.
Here at Service Peace Warriors our ultimate goal is to help our veterans with PTSD, and various disabilities reach a point in their lives where their service dog is no longer a necessity. However, the harsh reality is so many of our veterans have beaten and broken their bodies while serving our country that by the time their service dog has helped them reach a point of stability with their PTSD, many still need it for mobility, help hearing, picking things up and even reminders on low blood sugar, etc. We have also always told our veterans that if and when the time comes to retire their current service dog, As long as they are in good standing with our program, we will work with them to provide a replacement. We share all this to frame and explain the below story.
In 2024, one of our very first Veterans to receive a dog from our organization lost his dog because of an incorrect diagnosis and subsequent medication routine from his Veterinary clinic. This was a hard day for everyone involved. His service dog has been his lifeline for 7 years, and for Mary (co-founder), it was a poignant reminder of just how long she had been doing this and how much has changed over the years. Thankfully, we were able to get the Service Dog seen by our veterinarian and get his Veteran here in time to give a peaceful, painless send-off surrounded by he loved instead of the pain he had been experiencing because of the misdiagnosis. Not only was this heartbreaking for our Veteran, but it left him without a service dog he so desperately needed. This veteran doesn’t get out much as he has gotten older and is in a wheelchair, but his Service Dog helps him around the house, reminds him of medication, and helps with his mobility and support.
So, the search started internally as to what dogs we had that could be trained to pick up items, work with a wheelchair, help with stability, and still not be such a large dog as to inconvenience the veteran. After all the searching, all signs pointed to Arthur. Typically, part of our program is the dog picks the Veteran, but in this special case, we needed a dog with some very specific skills and the ability to learn more. That’s when we encountered our next hurdle in the process of preparing Arthur for a 2025 departure. We realized funding was insufficient to ensure he was appropriately equipped for his new veteran and to purchase the training tools needed to work and train Arthur for his Veteran and have him ready for this spring. We had already committed to nine service dogs going out this Winter/Spring class, and one more dog, especially with these specific requirements, seemed out of our reach. That is when we received a sizable donation from one individual earmarked where it’s needed most. With that donation, we were able to purchase the equipment needed for both Arthur and his training to be ready for his veteran. Arthur will be ready to go out this spring to that Veteran.
We cannot thank this individual enough, and to all our current and future donors, THANK YOU!! Every dollar donated makes a difference. You never know how much your donation of any size can help change a life. If you want to see some pictures of Arthur and his training videos, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/servicepeacewarriors/. We already have some up in our feed.
