Freedom Service Dogs

Week of July 06, 2009

A new Veterans Administration (VA) program adopts dogs from animal shelters, trains them and matches them with wounded warriors home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The program was formed after Freedom Service Dogs, a Denver-based non-profit, recently partnered with VA. VA hospitals nationwide are integrating service dogs into treatment plans for disabled veterans. Training a service dog takes up to nine months and costs $23,000. The organizations rely on private donations and foundation grants for funding. For more information, visit the Freedom Service Dogs website.