SERVICE DOGS FOR VETERANS
As the number of wounded veterans who could benefit from a service dog rises, we aim to expand our efforts. A service dog can help a veteran with a disability rebuild their life, offering vital support in regaining their independence.
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**Please understand that because we have a very small staff, we are not able to respond to individual eligibility inquiries outside of this process by email, mail, or phone.
About the Service Dogs for Veterans Program
Service dogs can assist veterans in reclaiming independence, optimism, and hope. In addition to providing essential assistance through specific tasks, the love, loyalty, and positive influence of a service dog can have a profound impact for individuals grappling with challenging emotions that can be difficult to articulate.
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We at Brigadoon understand first hand the impact our service dogs have on the life of our fellow veterans. Our staff and board consist of veterans from the United States Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, and even the Canadian Armed Forces. Our veteran staff and volunteers have experienced first hand the challenges of service as well as those faced by those with whom we served. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Anxiety, and PTSD are very real disabilities, though not always visible.
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To aid veterans in need of support, dogs can be trained in various tasks, such as interrupting anxiety attacks or repetitive behaviors, providing tactile grounding, retrieving medication and other items, and assisting their handlers in crowded public settings that may trigger anxiety or unease.
Aiming to Make A Difference
Brigadoon has historically provided service dogs to military veterans at no cost. These dogs aid veterans with a range of physical, psychological, and trauma-related disabilities. A trained service dog can perform tasks to improve independence such as retrieving dropped items, opening doors, and picking up prosthetics. They can also perform therapeutically-recommended trained tasks that provide comfort and reduce anxiety, hypervigilance, and other symptoms, especially in public settings.