Veterans Program

Our goal is to locate candidate for service dog work. If we locate candidates we will begin the training as we do with all the dogs that come to our rescue. They will live indoors and begin learning house manners, basic obedience and public access work. If a dog is a candidate for service dog work they will be paired with a veteran. The Big Country has over 40,000 veterans living in the area. We will reach out to the VA and any veteran interested in a dog will have priority for that dog. We will match them and allow them to begin building a bond with the chosen dog. The program lasts 3-6 months to train the veteran and dog team.  The first phase is focused on the skills needed to pass the what is known as the Canine Good Citizenship course, which is the benchmark standard in obedience for therapy dog work.  During the second phase, time is spent socializing the team in dog friendly public places.  When the trainer is confident the team is progressing sufficiently, the in-training Public Access work, in areas where only Service Dogs are allowed, begins.

Petting a dog decreases release of cortisol and increases release of oxytocin into the bloodstream. Decreases in cortisol lower blood pressure and facilitate a sense of relaxation, while increases in oxytocin, this same chemical released when a mother nurses her infant, will facilitate a sense of security and well-being.

According to TADSAW "For veterans with PTSD, it has been documented that a dog helps with emotional regulation. Patients who are very anxious and have anger issues find they can’t work with a dog if they yell. They must have a calm voice. Working with a dog helps build confidence and bridge the gap with strangers. More often than not the response and the bond is immediate.

A female veteran with PTSD has sleep disorders and often awakens to find herself barricaded in her closet, behind duffle bags, with a knife. With her TADSAW SERVICE DOG she is able to sleep. Simply having a dog around allows the veterans to trust the dog to assess the safety of their surroundings, as the dogs have a much keener sensory capacity than people.

TRAIN A DOG~SAVE A WARRIOR. has found that a great majority of the warriors with PTSD choose a shelter dog because they want ‘to save something’. They may choose a dog with an injury because they have an injury too. They are both healing. They fit together. They are a team.

Veterans often suffering alone, seem to silence themselves because of the stigma still attached to psychological injuries like PTSD. The dog can calm them down and get their minds off of everything going on in their lives by focusing on the dog not themselves.

There is life after injuries. This new quality of life just might be, in part, based on a PTSD SERVICE DOG."

A service dog can mean the difference of isolating one's self and getting out in the world and being a part of the community again. Save a life, help a veteran!!

If you would like to donate to our veteran program to help feed, house, care for and train these dogs please donate to our facebook fundraiser found on our page https://www.facebook.com/NaNookNaKodasBigPawsRescue/ or via paypal at nanooknakodasbigpawrescue@gmail.com both links can be found on our home page.

Thanks you in advance!