VOLUNTEER
HELP WARRIORS HELPING WARRIORS
AT PPH, WE LOVE OUR VOLUNTEERS!
They are crucial to our Warriors, our program, and to helping mold our world-class Paws for Purple Hearts service dogs. While we do try to use Warriors to work with puppies at a PPH Center, sometimes it’s not always possible. That’s when we turn to local communities near our PPH centers to pitch in with the pups. We have a few important roles, so please consider volunteering at a PPH Center near you.
APPLY TO BECOME A PUPPY PARENT
What are PPH Puppy Parents? PPH Puppy Parents are vital to the development of a service dog. Puppies with basic skills need puppy parents for to learn the ropes of household living. Even though puppies in service dog training have already spent nights and weekends with trainers, they still need to learn what life is like in a house outside of its training routine and personnel. For a few months, a PPH pup-in-training goes home with his or her PPH Puppy Parents and learns new situations, new people, and very important socialization.
PPH Puppy Parents are special people. They are dog lovers. They love our PPH mission. They respect the unique needs of living with pups in training. They are generous and selfless. They are committed to helping shape a highly capable service dog for a Service Member or Veteran in need.
DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?
PPH Puppy Parents pick up their PPH Pup-in-Training each evening and drop the pup back off at the PPH Center each business day. The PPH Pup-in-Training is just like another member of the family and accompanies the PPH Puppy Parent on all outings.
We strongly encourage outpatient active duty Service Members and Veterans who complete Puppy Parent training to become PPH Puppy Parents. Since it’s not always possible to use PPH Warrior Puppy Parents, from time to time, we need help from the local community.
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PUPPY PARENT?
Please complete the following online application and we’ll contact you. If you are a good fit, PPH Puppy Parents are required to attend introductory and bimonthly classes which include training and field trips to public settings.
GENERAL VOLUNTEERS
We are very grateful for help in a variety of areas. Whether at one of our facilities*, at a customer site, or at another location or event, there are a number of things you can do to help out.
Here are some ideas:
Basic Dog Handling
Office Duties (Reception Area)
Cleaning/Maintenance
Gardening
Construction-type Projects / “Handy-person”
Baking/Cooking for Special Events
Plumbing
Transportation
Clerical
Please click the button of the location nearest you below and fill out the form to let us know how you would like to help!
DONATIONS HELP WITH
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Our History
Paws for Purple Hearts is the first program of its kind to offer therapeutic intervention for Veterans and Active-Duty Military.
Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy®
Under the guidance of PPH instructors, service members engage with specially bred Golden Retriever and Labrador puppies.
How the Program Works
Read more about how Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® helps ease a Warrior’s symptom severity through assisting PPH trainers with soothing, light-hearted contact with PPH puppies and dogs.
RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS
Find out the latest PPH news, happenings and “pup”dates on our blog.
Paws for Purple Hearts Virginia is located in Caroline County, a region known for its beautiful rural landscapes and tight-knit community bonds.