WARRIORS LIVES CHANGED

Paws for Purple Hearts depends on generous individuals like you to continue our mission to improve the lives of active duty Service Members and Veterans with trauma-related conditions.

All services to our Warriors – including canine therapy, training and final service dog placement – are completely free for all qualified Warriors.

Please choose your donation level or create a custom amount:

DONATE TO PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS

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TESTIMONIAL AND QUOTES

“When I was working with Paul (dog), I stayed calm and was less irritable and more focused and open to treatment at Menlo Park VA.” -
-Kawika
“The dog Leif helped me with my self-esteem. People noticed a difference in when I had her and I’m grateful to Sandra for letting me be a part of this training.”
-Tim
“I looked at this program as a privilege and honor to be a small part of a dog’s life and knowing I was helping a fellow Vet.”
-Frank
“Many of our Veterans report that the dogs help them ‘get out of their own head’ and be more present.”
-Caroline Wyman
“These dogs can really sense your mood. They know when you’re having a bad day. They give you companionship without judgment. Ibarra (dog) doesn’t need to know why I have the symptoms I have. He just wants to be with me.”
-John Crofut
“The Paws for Purple Hearts program gave me a renewed sense of purpose. I was “giving back” and helping another Vet who was not expecting anything in return. It helped me with anger, self-esteem and survival guilt.”
-John
“The program gave me a sense of responsibility and helped me lower my isolation.”
-Dennis
“The comfort of the service dogs distracts from negative thoughts.”
-Nick
“The training helps me lower my stress level and blood pressure. The comfort I get from the dogs far out weighs the thoughts of suicide. Not one negative thought has entered by mind since I started training with the dogs.”
-John
“Working with the dogs gives me peace of mind and helps me control my anxiety issues so I can lead a more productive life.”
-Monty
“Learning to be more patient and understanding. How dogs think helps me improve on trying to understand others.”
-Jeff
Our PPH facility dog's impact has been substantial. The fact of the matter is that he boosts moral for the employees, keeps us sane, and the clients love working with him.
-Mental Health Employee
There's only one word for my PPH dog Ollie: Priceless!
-Rob S, a PPH Service Dog Recipient
PPH was the best therapy for my husband and it brought him closer to me and our daughter.
-Wife of a PPH Participant
Ethan, a PPH dog, showed me there is love and happiness, outside of grief and despair.
-A PPH Warrior Canine Trainer
Webb was so much help to me while I was recovering in the VA Menlo Park.... When both King and Webb came to visit, I was in heaven as I have two Bernese Mountain dogs that I hadn't seen in weeks.
-Bill Dable
One of my treatment goals was to get better sleep. Having Lief let me feel safe, and I started sleeping better. She actually woke me from a nightmare, too... My anxiety level went down. I was not so hyper-vigilant when I had her.
-Tim
The program helps not only the Veteran who receives the dog as theirs, but it also helps our healing process while we train them.
-A PPH Veteran-trainer

DONATIONS HELP WITH:

Food And Dietary Supplements

To learn nearly 100 service dog commands, each Paws for Purple Hearts dog needs proper nourishment. This includes premium food, supplements, and of course, treats to motivate learning. In the two-year service dog training period, nourishing each pup costs about $1,400.
In addition, high quality nourishment is essential to helping PPH pups thrive. After all, thriving puppies today become tomorrow’s top tier service dogs for Veterans and active duty Service Members. And just as importantly, it helps them live long, healthy, and productive lives.
Medicine, Vaccines, And Veterinary Care

At PPH, we aim to to raise the healthiest and happiest service dogs for our Warriors. Puppies are vulnerable to illness, parasites, and many medical issues, so routine vet checkups and preventive treatments are critical. Paws for Purple Hearts spends an average cost of $2,925 on vet visits, exams, vaccines, and preventative care to ensure each our of dogs are in great health.
Training Equipment & Simulation Materials

It’s a marvel to see our amazing PPH service dogs perform tasks. Paws for Purple Hearts dogs can open and retrieve items from the refrigerator. They can pull a wheelchair bound Warrior up a ramp. They nose light switches and elevator buttons. Teaching service dogs for Veterans and active duty Service Members to help means training them where people do these tasks.
This could be in a home-like environments created in our centers. For other tasks, we go to the right kind of location to work with them. On average, we spend about $2,500 per dog on training equipment for service dogs for Veterans and active duty Service Members.
Operating PPH Training Centers

A PPH center is busy place! At any given time, we may have dogs at various levels of training, volunteers making treats or cleaning kennels, puppy parents doing pick-ups and drop-offs, or members of the community touring the facility.
Paws for Purple Hearts centers also hold therapeutic intervention sessions. Each week, Warriors take part in Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy at our PPH centers where they work with our highly-skilled trainers to learn to train our dogs.
Our centers are the hub for our important work – training service dogs for Veterans and active duty Service Members. While we try hard to control costs, each center costs around $300,000 to open and an addition $200,000 to operate per year.