Warner Visits Rotary

Amy Miller brought a special guest to the noon Rotary Cub meeting on January 24th.   She is training a puppy for "Puppy Jake" and brought Warner to meet us.  The Puppy Jake Foundation purchases high quality purebred puppies from reputable breeders to be trained and eventually placed with a veteran.  Volunteers such as Amy raise the puppies with the majority of expenses paid by donations to the Foundation.  Additionally, Puppy Jake Foundation has begun to work with rescue and shelter organizations to identify dogs that may be able to enter the service dog training program.

 

The puppies have a very structured training environment and schedule.  All puppies, with their puppy raiser, attend regular and mandatory training classes. Puppies are evaluated every month to ensure they have met their goals and milestones.  Trained medical professionals, in conjunction with military organizations, conduct the selection of veterans that receive a service dog. The veteran and trained service dog attend a 10-14 day camp to ensure the bond between the two is strong.  The training of the veteran/service dog team continues regularly for the first year of placement.  Follow up and training continues for the life of the service dog.

The waiting list for service dogs for our veterans is growing, as is the number of US Armed Services members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or physical mobility issues.  Service dogs assist veterans in performing tasks, and are proven to help cope with anxieties or loneliness.