Here is a very important guest post from veterinarian Patrick Mahaney:
Have you or your family, friends, or coworkers benefited from the
companionship of a service dog? Those who have psychiatric conditions are
seemingly the most in need, with military veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) being at
high risk for self-harm, including suicide.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs reports that every 65 minutes a veteran commits suicide, and the department identifies a strong
correlation between PTSD and veterans who end their own lives. An alarming
755,200 veterans suffer from PTSD and 184 new cases are diagnosed every day.
K9s for Warriors is a organization that rescues dogs and trains them to
be service animals for veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. The dogs
chosen to be part of K9s for Warriors are saved from shelter-based euthanasia
and trained to meet Canine Good Citizen standards before being paired with
their warriors.
Animal
Fair’s Wendy Diamond has championed the K9s for Warriors cause and
is hosting the Bark Business Benefit Tour, a series of awareness and
fundraising events in multiple cities across the U.S. Diamond’s efforts have attracted support from Halo Purely For Pets
(Ellen DeGeneres's pet food company), American Express Open, Loews hotels, and
Omni hotels.
Diamond (and I) hope you will inspire your troops (friends,
family, etc.) to join our fundraiser, attend the L.A.
Bark Breakfast Benefit (Saturday, October 5, at 10 a.m. at the
Omni — Downtown Los Angeles), and help a Los Angeles-based veteran with PTSD
participate in the K9s for Warriors program.
K9s for Warriors donates 94 percent of every dollar received
directly to the veterans and their service dogs. The remaining 6 percent is
used on fundraising and overhead.
I’ve started my own Crowdrise fundraising page, Help Fund a Military Veteran's Service Dog Through K9s
for Warriors, in anticipation of the upcoming Los Angeles event.
Please join me at the event by donating $116 for your ticket. If you can’t
attend, please contribute any amount within your budget ($20, $40, $100, etc.).
