Now that we are at our new administration and housing campus, we need to get it paid for so that we can construct our kennels and get our trainers and dogs on site with us. One of the awesome things that we have decided to do, is to “PAVE THE WAY FOR PAD” by making a path of bricks from the main building to the kennel building. What does this mean for you? Well, we need you to help “pave the way” by purchasing one (or more) brick(s) on which you can have something engraved. You could put your company name on the brick, or names of the members of your family. You could honor a veteran or use it as a memorial for a lost loved one. Honor or use it as a tribute to a current or perhaps a pet that has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. There are many things you can do! Just follow this link to learn about these bricks and to customize your own!

All of us at Patriot Assistance Dogs are excited to announce that we are moving! That’s right, we have been trying to keep up with the number of veterans reaching out to us for help, and are so busy that we have now run out of space! We have purchased a 7-acre property that has an existing structure that will allow plenty of administration room, meeting room and a residence hall with six rooms for those veterans that are joining us during their week-long class for training. We are finalizing the moving details every day, and will be hosting our first veteran/service dog class at the facility on July 24th.

Of course, we need to bring the dogs with, so our next project is to construct a kennel building on the premises, which will include space for our dogs-in-training, provide offices for our trainers, a grooming and intake area, a trainer’s apartment (to simulate in-home situations) and much more. We are looking forward to this new venture!! For now, our trainers will be working from our original location, while utilizing our new space for classes and training.

This means that we have also launched a capital campaign, and are working very hard towards raising funds to pay for our existing building, as well as putting up the kennel space. You can donate by clicking HERE. Remember, EVERY penny counts, and we are grateful for donations of ANY size.

The DL Tribune recently came out and met with us and viewed the property. You can read their story by clicking HERE.

As always, thank you so much for your support!

Roka is a 1 1/2 year old husky mix. He came from a reservation in North Dakota. He was underweight when “Raise the Woof” found him. He wasn’t very fond of grooming or anything to do with cleaning. He fostered with one of our volunteers and has thrived since. He has been with Patriot Assistance Dogs since January. Roka is now eligible to be matched with a Veteran this month.

Meet Lord Cypress, or “Cy,” for short. He is one of Lady Ellen’s pups. He has been accepted into the service dog program and is now fostering with one of our long-time foster families. They will train him on obedience and his service tasks over the next year. At the age of one, he will go in for his medical exam (which includes hips, elbows, lungs, heart, and more) to make sure that he is suitable for long-term work. He will then go back home with his foster for a few months before being returned to home base, where the on-site trainers will evaluate him and do any fine-tuning that is necessary.

Cypress is a sweet, snuggly little boy, who absolutely adores people and other dogs. He is learning fast, eager to please, and is full of confidence and puppy mischief. He even got to go camping up by Lake Superior, where he made a lot of new friends. 

Lady Ellen is Generous was donated to the PAD program as a possible breeding prospect. As you know, about 80% of our service dogs are donated, while the rest are donated or bred for the program. Lady had a complication during delivery, as the first puppy was breach, and our awesome staff and and a very experienced volunteer banded together to be there to support her. She was taken to the emergency vet, where she had a caesarean. Nine beautiful puppies were delivered safely, and Lady Ellen made a full recovery and is a most excellent mama. Some of the pups will be placed into fosters with trainers, and others will be sold to extremely well-vetted homes, with the proceeds going to Patriot Assistance Dogs.

Let me be the first to welcome you to our Members Only Blog. As a member of Patriot Assistance Dogs, you will get exclusive access to this blog, a 10% discount on all Patriot Assistance Dogs clothing, a quarterly newsletter with pictures of our matched teams and bios on some of the dogs in the program, enjoy exclusive interviews with our Veterans/Dog teams, and a yearly newsletter with information on all of the teams that have graduated throughout the year.