Posted on September 11 2018
America's VetDogs mission is "to help those who have served our country honorably live with dignity and independence."
Before we really knew what America's VetDogs did, we were under the assumption that getting a service dog ready to go was a relatively easy task. Train a puppy for a while until it's grown up, and send it home with a vet in need. Sounds easy right? Well we couldn't have been more mistaken. Do you know that it costs over $50,000 to get one dog ready to go home? There is no charge to the vet in need, so all of this is paid for by the generous donations from various groups and individuals.
It's not surprising what affect these dogs have on their people. And it's a remarkable example of how intertwined human existence is with everything around us. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in our own thoughts the we forget how connected we actually are. And not just in a social media way, but with all the other life around us. And the fact that a dog can bring back someone's ability to go back into the world, in a way, to bring back their humanity is a beautiful thing.
Just reading some of the testimonials is proof of this. There's Annabelle, the 90 year marine who served in WWII. Of her dog Joe, she says “I became an individual again when I teamed with my dog. I came back to Annabelle.” And Paul who lost his sight in Vietnam says, "Beyond the work relationship, I just can’t ignore the extra source of love the guide represents, or the love I give them back.”
It's stories like these that get us excited about being able to give back to America's VetDogs. It's so much more than just a dog, it's that loving relationship that Paul talks about, and the feeling of being an individual again.
So why would a company like Barrel Dogs, whose focused on French Bulldogs, want to be associated with a foundation full of labs and retrievers? Well, that question is pretty much answered above, but we do have one other fun story besides that Basil loves playing with big dogs, especially goldens.
We had called a pet psychic to help us figure out why Basil and Bordeaux would freak out so much and attack each other when other dogs walked by the house. Though we didn't get a clear answer on that question, it was a fun experience and we would definitely suggest trying it out if you are curious.
When the psychic was "talking" to Bordeaux she got very serious and described Bordeaux as being very interested in keeping the peace, and being very disciplined. She said something along the lines of it almost seemed like Bordeaux had a background in the Military. We loved this and could totally see it. When we have other dogs over and a scuffle breaks out, Bordeaux is usually the first one in there trying to get in the way of the two dogs to break them up. Our little dumpling of a peace-keeper!!
So when we were deciding which charities we wanted to be part of Barrel Dogs, we knew we needed an organization that had to do with dogs and veterans. Reading everything about America's VetDogs and talking with them we know we made a great choice.