America’s VetDogs Holds First On-Campus Service Dog Class

Most of the veterans who have trained with their VetDogs service dogs have done so either near Walter Reed Army Medical Center—where they are undergoing rehabilitation therapy—or in a VA medical center closer to their homes.

In October 2008, however, VetDogs held its first-ever service dog class on the campus of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. These veterans were wounded while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and suffered injuries ranging from the loss of limbs to other severe injuries that have impacted their lives.

While every service dog is matched to a veteran’s specific needs, many are trained to provide balance or stability support (usually with a balance harness), and to fetch and retrieve dropped items for those veterans who have difficulty bending. Others are trained for seizure or fall alert, especially for veterans who have suffered traumatic brain injury.

No matter what their roles, guide and service dogs offer companionship, motivation, and love.

Joining the class was U.S. Army Major Elizabeth Painter from Walter Reed. Painter is in charge of physical therapy at the amputee unit, and she trained with Raleigh, who will be an important member of the physical rehabilitation therapy team.

Through retrieval, bracing, and innovative “tug of war” exercises, Raleigh will work with soldiers as they adapt and work with their new prosthetic limbs. The program’s mission, Painter says, is to help amputees achieve as high a level of physical, psychological, and emotional functioning as possible. “The dog addresses all three and is a different way to get to the same goals.”

She and Raleigh continued their training with Mathys at Walter Reed when they returned to Washington, D.C.

Raleigh joins George, who was placed at Walter Reed in 2007 as an occupational therapy dog. These days, George makes the rounds with wounded soldiers, offering emotional support during their rehabilitation.

After a week of intensive training, the new teams were graduated in a special ceremony in New York City, sponsored by HistoryTM (formerly The History Channel). America’s VetDogs partnered with History as part of the channel’s Take a Veteran to School Day initiative. Take a Veteran to School was launched in 2007 to link veterans of all ages with young people in schools and communities across America.

In December 2007, America’s VetDogs trained Boe and Budge, the first-ever therapy dogs to be sent in theater to work with military combat stress control teams. These teams help deployed soldiers deal with combat stress, homefront issues, and sleep disorders. Mike Sergeant, chief training officer, and his team are currently training additional military therapy dogs.

Since its creation in 2003, America’s VetDogs has become the premier provider of guide and service dogs to veterans with disabilities.


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