SMITHTOWN, NY – Newly enlisted Sergeants First Class Boe and Budge are two black Labrador Retrievers about to embark on a historic mission.

For the first time in the history of the United States Army, skilled therapy dogs, provided by America’s VetDogs, will be deployed to Iraq to help relieve combat stress of soldiers in the field. These two specially trained dogs will work with a multidisciplinary team of Army professionals to address mental health issues as they arise in theater.

Says Major Stacie Caswell, commander of the 85th Medical Detachment, “Dogs have been the unsung heroes of our war efforts. Bringing therapy dogs into Iraq will take dogs to the next level on the battlefield. The therapy dogs will be another method that our Combat Stress teams can use to break down mental health stigma and assist soldiers.”

Anecdotal evidence has existed for years that pets provide positive health benefits such as blood pressure and stress reduction, but more recently, scientific studies have been conducted to determine the validity of pet therapy.

Staff Sergeants Jack Greene and Mike Calaway, certified occupational therapy assistants with the 85th Medical Detachment and currently deployed to Iraq, were given temporary duty assignments to the campus of America’s VetDogs in Smithtown, N.Y. in December 2007 to bond and learn how to work with their new charges.

After an intensive five-day training program, Budge and Boe were formally presented to the Army during the handover ceremony on December 13. According to Wells Jones, CEO of America’s VetDogs, “We are privileged and proud to have the opportunity to give something back to the men and women who dedicate themselves to our country. We’re honored to serve those who have served us.”
The dogs will accompany Greene and Calaway as they work with soldiers, whether in a one-to-one or group setting, to cope with homefront issues, sleep problems, or day-to-day operational stress. Budge and Boe can help provide emotional comfort through physical interactions such as playing fetch or simple petting.

Says Greene, “The dogs have a natural, uncanny way of reducing stress. It’s kind of magical.” Calaway concurs. “They will be great morale boosters as members of the team,” he adds.
America’s VetDogs is honored to make the gift of these special canines to the Army’s 85th Medical Detachment, and proud to be called to serve the valiant men and women who serve our country.

America’s VetDogs, a subsidiary of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, offers guide and service dogs to veterans of all eras. A major component of the program is to provide service dogs to members of the military recently wounded in combat.


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Cardinal Health Enlists to Raise Money for VetDogs

Mark Rosenbaum, president of Integrated Provider Solutions at Cardinal Health, presents Jeff Bressler, executive vice president of America's VetDogs, with a check for $59,145 at the closing session of Cardinal Health’s annual sales meeting. Over the four-day meeting, about 3,000 Cardinal Health employees—most from sales and marketing—donated the funds to VetDogs. Rosenbaum pledged to bring the total to $60,000. With a match from the Cardinal Health Foundation, VetDogs received $120,000 in support of its programs to provide guide and service dogs to America's disabled veterans. Cardinal Health is a leading provider of healthcare products and services to hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies. Click here to learn more about Cardinal Health.

VetDogs Project Gives America’s Veterans Their Own K-9 Corps

When the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind was founded in 1946, part of its mission was to provide guide dogs, free of charge, to wounded soldiers returning from World War II. Sixty years later, the Foundation is still giving the gift of independence and mobility to veterans who are blind or visually impaired.

However, as our nation’s veterans age, and as wounded soldiers return home from the global war on terrorism, we have come to recognize that there is an increased need for guide and service dogs to help these men and women live again with dignity and self-reliance.

Could a service dog program be developed to help the wounded soldiers returning from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan?

With the support and vision of CEO Wells B. Jones, Mike Sergeant—who has worked with people with other disabilities in addition to blindness—and Jeff Bressler, chief training officer and chief marketing officer, respectively, in 2003 began the research to develop such a program. The Foundation’s board of directors gave its approval and included this additional outreach as part of its strategic plan.

Origin of the K-9 Corps
World War II saw the creation of the first U.S. “K-9 corps,” when the military realized that canines could be used to aid the U.S. war effort. The American Kennel Club and a civilian group called Dogs for Defense issued a call for dog owners across the country to donate quality animals to the Army’s Quartermaster Corps, where they would be trained for various duties. Thousands of dogs were used to guard facilities, carry messages, sniff out mines, and pull sleds. Today, the military and other law enforcement agencies still use canines as part of their teams.

The launching of the Guide Dog Foundation’s VetDogs project creates the veteran’s own K-9 corps.

Back to Civilian Life
National VetDogs Outreach Coordinator Joe Link, himself a guide dog user, understands the potential apprehension a disabled veteran may have about making the transition back to civilian life once rehabilitation therapy is completed.

Not only does a guide or service dog from the VetDogs program provide assistance for daily living, the dog serves as an ice breaker, a bridge to conversation and acceptance because it lets people focus on the dog, not the veteran’s disability. VetDogs provides guide dogs for visually impaired veterans and service dogs for those with other special needs, and the training to help them lead active, independent lives again.

Trekker
In addition, an innovative new device called Trekker is also available for blinded veterans. Trekker uses a handheld PDA, GPS technology, and a tactile overlay to help a visually impaired person navigate unfamiliar territory.

As a person walks with Trekker, he or she can access information about approaching intersections, street names, and points of interest, and establish and follow routes. After entering a location, the Trekker will “speak” the directions; the user can then give instructions to his dog.

This service is available to all veterans who are guide dog users, even if they have a dog from another dog guide school.

Commitment to Veterans
This project reinforces the Foundation’s mission to serve the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. Our commitment to America’s veterans is stronger today than ever before.

The Guide Dog Foundation, through its VetDogs project, plans to be the standard by which the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) measure assistance dog providers. Since we first began this project, we have been working to build cooperative relationships with the military and the VA, and to develop strategic partnerships with other guide and service dog schools to ensure that veterans will get the services to which they’re entitled and have a wide variety of choices of where to obtain those services.

America’s disabled veterans know they’re not alone when they have a dog from the VetDogs program.

Please click here to find out what a guide dog can do for you.

Please click here to find out what a service dog can do for you.

To learn more about Trekker GPS training, please click here.

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Publications

Click here to download a pdf version of the VetDogs brochure.

The official newsletter of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, the parent organization of America's VetDogs, is The Guideway. To read it and learn more about the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, click here.

If you are interested in receiving a hard copy, please e-mail your name and address to news@guidedog.org.

The Annual Report for the VetDogs for the 2006-2007 fiscal year is available. Click here to read it.