SHELTER TO SOLDIER INC

“Saving Lives, Two At A Time,” Shelter to Soldier helps adopt dogs from rescue organizations and shelters and helps alleviate the burden of trauma for veterans suffering from the perils of mental injury associated with traumatic service experiences. Shelter to Soldier was founded in October 2012.

Every day, 3200 dogs are euthanized across our nation. We rescue dogs that may otherwise be overlooked, providing them a future with a purpose and a life that is fulfilled by their bond with a veteran in need. Every 69 minutes, a US veteran loses their life to suicide. Twenty veterans and one active duty military personnel commit suicide, every day. In the OIF/OEF veteran population that we serve, PTSD has been found to be a risk factor for suicide contemplation. The greatest threat to our armed forces is their mental health state when they return from combat duty. One in five veterans returning from combat tours suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and that is just diagnosed cases. Our veteran applicants may or may not have physical injuries, but the mental injury sustained during combat has limited their lives such that they find difficulty participating in their families, in society as a whole, and in relationships. Many of them are so debilitated that they are unable to leave their homes or engage in any meaningful way in society.

We know that the healing impact that a highly trained service dog provides for psychological treatment in this population improves their overall quality of life, relationships, confidence and sense of security. Our service dogs help these veterans integrate back into society and find their purpose, often for the first time since their military service. With the combination of therapy, medications and the companionship of a service dog who does not judge them but does inspire and require them to get up and out, we are seeing our veterans experience a new lease on life with a boost in their confidence, increased productivity, and improved relationships through the sense of security and companionship that their service dog provides.

Although we evaluate the shelter dogs at a very high level to determine their potential as a service dog, every dog we rescue is an individual, with unique needs and challenges to work through. We tailor the training program to each dog to build them up to a successful career change from abandoned rescue to psychiatric service dog and lifelong companion. The Shelter to Soldier service dog training program includes training sessions with the veteran, plus home visits with the veteran and the dog as well as family training for the veteran’s family with the dog. The costs of a dog's journey through our program include safe housing fees, medical expenses, training, equipment, food, grooming, treats, toys, supplements, Canine Good Citizen (CGC) testing and certification, Service Dog testing and certification, liability insurance, handler training, and graduation materials for the veteran. We also offer lifetime follow-up training for all of our veteran/service dog teams. This project is designed to train a rescue dog into a level 1 psychiatric service dog in the span of 12-18 months. Although we achieve significant cost savings through donated services and supplies, the cost for the 12 month training and certification is approximately $18,000 per dog. Our non-profit relies on donations large and small to rescue, train and certify our dogs and then pair with appropriate veterans as a service companion.

In addition to our psychiatric service dog program, we also provide trained Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) to active duty military and veterans. Dogs who do not seem to have the traits required of them to succeed in the longterm as service dogs are career changed to emotional support animals and given to approved veteran applicants of our emotional support animal program. These dogs are very well trained companion animals, but lack public access rights through ADA law.

Our Shelter to Soldier Canine Ambassadors (therapy dog team) program also provides visits of love and comfort throughout the Southern California communities - to active duty military, their families, and veterans on a much larger scale. Our psychiatric service dog and emotional support animal programs provide one-on-one support for rescue dog and veteran, while our therapy dog team provide comfort and loving interactions to large groups of military and veterans in need. Your contribution will be used to further our mission and increase the number of veterans and homeless dogs we can serve. We appreciate your kind consideration of lifesaving support for Shelter to Soldier.