WOUNDED WARRIORS CANADA ANNOUNCES WWC PTSD SERVICE DOG PROGRAM
HALIFAX, NS – Wounded Warriors Canada is proud to announce the launch of the Wounded Warriors Canada PTSD Service Dog Program: A national program to increase the number of properly trained PTSD Service Dogs for ill and injured Veterans and First Responder population. Under this new program, Wounded Warriors Canada will pair 25 PTSD Service dogs in 2018, a total funding commitment of $300,000.
Since 2012, Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC) has made significant investments in PTSD Service Dogs. As a voting member of the Canadian General Standards Board study on the efficacy of PTSD Service Dogs, this process has reinforced and provided early clinical evidence of that which we knew to be imperially true: properly trained PTSD Service Dogs can and do change and save lives.
The average cost to properly train and pair a service dog is $15,000 and takes on average two years to complete the pairing process. What’s more, because of the complexity of the training, not all dogs that train to become at PTSD Service Dog graduate.
” We have now reached a point in Canada where the demand has outstripped the funding capacity requisite to train and pair service dogs with ill and injured Veterans and First Responders. Nationally, the waiting list has grown to exceed two years and remains our greatest challenge and concern – a sentiment that is shared throughout the Service Dog community,” commented Scott Maxwell, Executive Director of Wounded Warriors Canada.
Under the new Program, trainers must meet the following criteria in order to pair a Wounded Warriors Canada PTSD Service Dog
- WWC PTSD Service Dogs will wear specialized WWC vests to ease public recognition and understanding.
- All Service Dog pairings will meet or exceed current and pending PTSD Service Dogs standards and laws
- WWC will work to raise national awareness concerning PTSD Service Dogs with the goal of substantially increasing funding/pairing.
- WWC will liaise with all training partners in order to monitor and track progress of each pairing.
