WASHINGTON – Six military veterans and dogs graduated last week from a program that pairs vets with service dogs.
American Humane’s Pups4Patriots program pairs former servicemembers who have post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries with dogs. The six pairs are the first to be trained with a donation Coleman Natural Foods pledged to the program in February.
Coleman will donate $800,000 to the program over three years.
American Humane is on track to graduate 12 vet/dog pairs next year.
According to American Humane, waiting lists to get service dogs can be long, and the costs of training a dog can climb to $30,000.
“Tragically, up to one in five veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with PTS every year,” said Mel Coleman, a fourth generation member of the founding Coleman family. ” What the Pups4Patriots program can do to make a difference in treatment outcomes is significant, and we are honored to work alongside American Humane to support this effort.”