It’s a Dog’s Life.

Clumsily tripping over her own feet and happily tugging on her leash, she unknowingly breezes past automatic doors and enters a whole new world, a distinctly human world.

This little puppy doesn't know it, but once past those doors and wearing a red vest, she has officially become a Patriot Service Dog. She faces a time of intense training and will become a canine with pride in her ability to serve and obey.

Founded in 2009, the Patriot Service Dogs organization raises and trains dogs to aid disabled veterans. These dogs are as well trained as their human counterparts were in the military. They do far more than your average pet. Unless your house pet can turn on lights, open cabinet doors, or pick up a dime from the floor.

Patriot uses mostly Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers because of their natural abilities and calm temperaments. Almost all these puppies are donated. This is a bonus because the cost of training is expensive.

The kind souls who raise our pups are the foot soldiers of our organization; they keep them from the age of eight weeks until they’ve matured at 20 months. During that time they teach basic skills such as sit, stay and shake. When these are learned, they move on to more advanced skills, opening doors and turning on lights. During this time the pups are socialized, learning to behave in grocery stores, malls, offices, restaurants, they are acclimated to any place a veteran is likely to go.

Patriot Service Dogs’ trainers use positive reinforcement in their training with lots of love and praise being given to a pup as he or she excels at various skills. They learn early on that wearing a red vest means behaving in public. But, each puppy knows that when the vest comes off, the work day is over and it’s time to be loved and to play. They live in loving homes and are given many hours of dog time to relax.

Florida law says that a puppy in training must be granted the same rights as a full service dog. It is this law the trainers rely on when they enter a store or any place of business. These pups must learn how to act in public, therefore they must have public experiences when they are young. Positive reinforcement makes a pup look forward to joining the public and enjoying an outing while wearing the vest.

Patriot Service Dogs is a nonprofit organization which operates solely on donations. All the puppies trained so far have been sponsored. A group or an individual may sponsor a pup for two thousand five hundred dollars ($2500.00). A sponsorship entitles the donor to name their puppy and receive updates on the progress of the future service dog. Each person working with these fine animals donates their time, it’s their way of thanking a Veteran for his or her service to our country.

Patriots Service Dogs encourages any disabled veteran who is in need of a service dog to visit our website: patriotservicedogs.org to see our work and learn when a dog will be available. Please be aware that currently there is an eighteen month wait to receive a dog.

You can reach the offices at 10545 S.E. 42 Court, Belleview, Florida 34420-6871 or email julie@patriotservicedogs.org The Chief Executive Officer is Julie Drexel. She’s easy to talk to whether you want a dog or wish to make a donation, she’s doesn’t act like a CEO, more like a patriotic dog lover.

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