WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Paws for Heroes is a nonprofit that rescues homeless dogs and professionally trains them to serve as companion dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD, at no cost to the veteran.  Their mission is to bring comfort and companionship to our veterans by rescuing shelter dogs that have been carefully evaluated, selected and professionally trained for the purpose of providing emotional support and companionship. Each dog costs approximately $7,000 to train and place with a veteran, with a majority of the costs going towards the professional dog training.  Since their founding Paws for Heroes has matched 62 Veterans with dogs! 

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What is PTSD? PTSD is not a mental illness.  It is a reactive change the brain undergoes, after having been exposed to the stresses of war.   Many veterans’ brains stay in combat mode after they come home—and the condition may persist for many years.  Their brains tell them to be on high alert for an enemy.  They have difficulty sleeping and have nightmares about what they saw and experienced.  Being in a crowd can be extremely stressful, because the brain tells the veteran danger could be waiting among the people around him. Emotionally fragile, sleep-deprived and depressed, these military members begin to withdraw from family and friends.  

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Sadly, many veterans end up committing suicide.  The VA estimates that somewhere between 20% and 30% of veterans return home with PTSD.  

 

In December 2024, the VA released their annual statistics regarding veteran suicides for the year 2022.  The report showed that 6,407 veterans committed suicide in 2022.  Broken down, that is more than 17 veterans, per day.

 

Scientific evidence of a dog’s impact on humans has been studied for many years. More than 30 years ago, a study produced evidence that the act of petting a friendly and familiar dog lowers a person’s blood pressure, causes the heart rate to slow down, making breathing more regular and causes tensed muscles to relax.   All of these add up to reduced stress.  Companion dogs can help to counteract the cycle of depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and improve the military member's overall well being.   Adopting a shelter dog provides a military member the satisfaction of helping another living being, which can help to assuage some of the feelings of guilt they might experience from events that occurred in combat or survivor's guilt over why their lives were spared but others were not.  

 

​Paws for Heroes was founded in 2013 by 3 oil and gas business women after they learned there was no organization in Houston, Texas helping veterans by providing trained dogs who offered comfort and companionship.  The founders of Paws for Heroes all have family members who are either currently active duty in the military or have relatives who are veterans.