Success Story

One of our recent recipients, an Army Veteran suffering debilitating Post-traumatic stress, is just one example of the life-changing impact our Service Dogs can bring.  Before coming to our campus for the required 2-week training session to receive her Service Dog, this Veteran rarely left her house.  For almost a year, she considered the outside world too much to process. In fact, she struggled to attend and complete each day of the training period as her anxiety and stress was so intense that she became physically ill. In just two years after receiving her Service Dog, she re-enrolled in college, completed her college education, and traveled extensively. As of 2021 she has completed her doctorate in London; and is now doing research at a hospital in Texas, all with her Service Dog by her side in "doggles", booties, and a lab coat.  The relationship between this Veteran and her Service Dog is best expressed and understood through her own words:  “I was truly afraid that the best parts of my life - the best parts of myself - were gone, and that I wasn't going to get them back.  I’m beyond grateful to Patriot PAWS and to my Service Dog.  He's given me my life back.  He reminds me every day who I used to be, and gives me the courage to be that person again.”