HOWELL, Mich. — A local man is pairing shelter dogs with veterans in need.
Air Force Veteran Kirk Lanam started Veteran Service Dogs about a year ago. To date, the organization has helped train over 172 veterans and dogs which he says can be life-saving.
"Well, the number one reason is we have 22 veterans kill themselves every day. So this is just one of the tools in the box to help to lower that number and ultimately we want that number to be zero."
The dogs aren't the only ones being taught something, veterans are also learning how to train their dogs. This, Lanam says, gives a purpose.
"And they need something to do. You know, the military gives a great deal of purpose. It gives you direction, it gives you guidance. You are told every day to what to do and how to do it. So typically when they get out of their service, they don't know what to do anymore," Lanam said.
The dogs are adopted from shelters and then matched with a veteran. They can be trained to assist with PTSD, panic disorders, physical disabilities, bipolar disorder, seizures, and many more. The pups are then required to pass several levels of certification before they are graduated out of the program.
"We always push past their boundaries a little bit to make sure we can kind of get them moving as opposed to just staying where they're at," Lanam said.
Lanam says as a vet himself, being able to help vets after serving our country is fulfilling.
"It's an amazing feeling actually being able to help those that maybe you couldn't help before. Now you can actually help them out of that rabbit-hole, as we call it, that they are in," he said.
As cute as they are, if you see a service dog in public, don't approach it or pet it. The dogs are working and need to be left alone so they can focus on their job.
To learn more about Veteran Service Dogs or to donate, click here.
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