From Service Dog in training to being paired with a Veteran in need, we put love and care into each dog every step of the way.
At K9s For Warriors, we procure dogs from a variety of sources, including: animal shelters, dog donations, owner surrenders and in 2022 from select breeders.
In 2022, our Veteran waitlist was longer than 4 years and Covid played a big role in that. It limited Warrior class sizes and greatly reduced our ability to rescue dogs from shelters. To reduce the wait time, we made the decision to acquire more dogs from breeders and other Service Dog agencies. Veterans now wait 18-24 months to be paired with a dog. Ultimately, we believe the decision saves more lives.
Our procurement team continuously searches animal shelters, seeking suitable Service Dog candidates.
We would love if all of our dogs could be rescues but that would increase our wait list for Veterans and ultimately lead to fewer annual pairings. Because lives are at risk, we must acquire dogs outside of shelters to meet the urgent demand.
Dogs bred to be service animals arrive on our campus needing less training than rescue dogs so we can pair them with Veterans in a more timely fashion. Our rescue dogs naturally require more training. Rescue dogs will always be the majority of dogs we procure. Our goal in 2024 is to have rescue dogs comprise 80% of acquired dogs. Over the lifetime of our organization (2011-2023), we estimate 90% of our dogs have been rescues.
To find out more about our shelter-to-Service-Dog procurement process, visit our blog.
For some Service Dogs, training starts early. The K9s For Warriors Puppy Program consists of volunteers who dedicate countless hours training and caring for a puppy before it enters the kennels to become a future Service Dog.
As we expand, the need for puppy-raisers is greater than ever! If you live within 50 miles of a K9s For Warriors campus and are looking to make an impact, fill out our puppy raiser form today.
We also accept dog donations — both puppies from eight weeks old to three months of age and adult dogs — from eleven months old to four years of age.
If you’d like to donate a dog to be trained to become a future Service Dog for a Veteran, please fill out our dog donation form.
After a dog is selected for the program, training begins! Dogs spend roughly six to eight months preparing to be paired with a Veteran. With a Veteran waitlist of 18-24 months, the need for more dogs and K9 trainers is critical.
In addition to our top-of-the-line training staff, we’ve partnered with multiple local Correctional Center’s to create the Paws For Change program. Inmates spend 24/7 training and living alongside a Service Dog-in-training.
The K9s For Warriors Station Dog Program provides law enforcement and first responder agencies with reliable, high quality K9s that provide emotional support to police officers, firefighters, dispatchers, victims, and others who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic events in the line of duty.
Other dogs that career-change during training are adopted out to local families.
Determined to end Veteran suicide, K9s For Warriors is the nation’s largest provider of trained Service Dogs to military Veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma.
Thank you for your interest in adopting one of our dogs. We hope that your perfect fit becomes available soon! Please fill out the application below – and our Adoption Team will add you to our waitlist.
If you would like to inquire about the K9s For Warriors Station Dog Program, please share with us the following information:
