Smithtown, NY - December 15, 2015 - Two U.S. military veterans will be getting a Christmas present that could help change their lives for the better. On December 18, 2015 at 4 p.m. at 4600 Selvits Rd in Fort Pierce, Fla., they will receive a service dog that has been trained just for them, and may help them with healing and recovering from combat situations. The dogs have been trained by a nonprofit organization called Paws of War, and will be given to the veterans free of charge.
Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to anxiety may be helped with trained service dogs.
“This is what we do,” explains Lauren Driscoll, a trainer for Paws of War. “Trained service dogs have been proven to help our veterans with everything from post-traumatic stress disorder to anxiety, so we are pleased to be able to help two more veterans this holiday season.”
The two veterans who are receiving the dogs include Derek Montgomery and Jason Brown. Derek is a resident of St. Louis and served in the Marine Corps. He was deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Marine division, with a small team of Marines to support the Republic of Georgia in their combat operations. The dog he has been paired with is Pixel, a 2.5-year-old pointer pit bull terrier mix. Jason lives in Fort Pierce, Fla. He spent 14 years in the military, serving in the Army National Guard and active duty, until his retirement in 2014.
Derek Montgomery served in the Marine Corps. He is one of the veterans to recieve a trained service dog to help with healing.
"While we try to help veterans all year long, it’s especially nice to be able to help them at Christmas,” says Robert Misseri, president of Paws of War. “Their new service dog can be a major step in the right direction in terms of therapy and healing.”
Both dogs were rescues from Dogs and Cats Forever, a no-kill animal shelter located in Fort Pierce. Driscoll has successfully trained 12 dogs prior to the two being paired up with the veterans this month. She is the owner of Pet Peeves Dog Training Florida, and volunteers her time for the Paws of War organization. Paws of War is an all volunteer organization that provides assistance to military members and their pets, and provides service and therapy dogs to veterans suffering from PTSD. To learn more about Paws of War or make a donation to support their efforts, visit their website.
About Paws of War
Based in New York and founded by Guardians of Rescue, Paws of War is a 501c3 organization devoted to helping both animals and veterans. The Paws of War goal is to train and place shelter dogs to serve and provide independence to our United States military veterans that suffer from the emotional effects of war such as PTSD. In turn each veteran can experience the therapeutic and unconditional love only a companion animal can bring. To learn more about Paws of War, visit the site at www.pawsofwar.org.