Frequently Asked Questions
The organization was founded in 2011 by Shari Duval, a mother who saw how a Service Dog benefitted her son who had returned from civilian duty in Iraq.
Determined to end Veteran suicide, K9s For Warriors provides highly-trained Service Dogs — many of them rescues — to military Veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma, at no financial cost to the Veteran.
We have four campuses in two states, that serve Veterans from all over the United States. Our national headquarters is in Ponte Vedra, Fla. along with the Davis Family Mega Kennel nearby. In San Antonio, we have the Petco Love K9 Center and the Warrior Ranch, located in Helotes, Texas.
The organization serves all-era military Veterans who have been diagnosed with service-connected PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma living in the United States or surrounding territories.
Since 2011, K9s For Warriors has paired more than 1,000 Warriors with lifesaving Service Dogs.
The three-week residential training program is essential for Veteran and Service Dog success. During this time, Warriors build a bond with their dogs, learn essential training cues, and practice going out in various public settings with guidance from Warrior trainers. This ensures Warriors can effectively communicate and work with their Service Dogs before returning home.
Our waitlist is between 18 and 24 months, though it may vary depending on several factors. Once accepted, our dedicated Warrior Operations team conducts monthly check-ins, provides guidance and resources, and ensures Veterans feel prepared before meeting their future Service Dog.
Thanks to generous support from individual donors, grants, and corporate partners, the training program and Service Dogs are provided at no financial cost to the Veteran. It costs upwards of $75,000 to train each Service Dog for an average of six to eight months.
A majority of the dogs we procure are rescue dogs from shelters. We also accept dog and puppy donations, as well as collaborate with select purpose-bred and rescue providers.
We screen dogs before bringing them into our program to ensure they are healthy and have the right temperament to work as a Service Dog. While many of our dogs successfully graduate, our program is rigorous, and not every dog is suited for service work. The good news is that if they are career-changed, our dogs are either deemed suitable for the Station Dog program or become an adoptable dog to live out their life in a forever home. We are committed to ensuring that no dog in our care is returned to a shelter.
We collect information on the Warriors and the strengths of each Service Dog to pair each Veteran with a Service Dog that best fits their individual needs. Based on this pairing process, Veterans will not be able to choose their dog or the training campus location. Additionally, in accordance with K9s For Warriors policies, we do not train owned pets.
The Northeast Florida Fire Watch Council (“the Fire Watch Council”) was founded as a result of PREVENTS (the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide), a Presidential Executive Order from 2019 creating a national public health strategy to address Veteran suicide.
It was comprised of state, local (Baker County, Clay County, Nassau County, St. Johns County, and the City of Jacksonville) and community agencies. Each governmental entity contributed startup donations, and K9s offered to cover staffing and technology expenses because the mission aligned with ours. This support by K9s was memorialized by an employee on loan (EOL) agreement prepared by the City General Counsel’s Office. Nick Howland was that employee on loan and went on to become the Executive Director of the Fire Watch, which later became its own 501(c)(3) so it could continue operating, raise funds, and be self-sustaining, which it is now. K9s’ financial support ended in 2022 when the Fire Watch became self-sustaining.
For years, K9s For Warriors has worked with the OHAIRE Lab at the University of Arizona’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The most recent study, partially funded by National Institutes of Health and published in JAMA Network Open, linked the pairing of Service Dogs with military Veterans to lowered PTSD severity, diagnosis odds and other negative mental health symptoms. K9s For Warriors is at the forefront of this important research designed to better understand the efficacy of Service Dogs to push for policy reform.
Early findings suggest Service Dogs provide unique benefits to Veterans with trauma. More research is currently underway with our Warrior graduates and those on our waiting list. Limited empirical data on the topic exists. K9s is at the forefront of this important research designed to better understand the efficacy of Service Dogs.
The Research Institute was an independent 501(c)(3) founded by K9s For Warriors in 2016 with the purpose of conducting and coordinating scientific research on the efficacy of Service Dog use to mitigate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress suffered by veterans.
Through the generous financial support of Merrick Pet Care and Bayer Animal Health (now Elanco), the Research Institute was able to help fund research conducted by the OHAIRE Lab.
In addition to those program expenses, the Research Institute and its employees supported education and awareness of factors causing veteran suicide, the federal PAWS Act, and other legislative initiatives to address veteran suicide.
The organization was dissolved on March 1, 2022, by Board Resolution, and merged into K9s For Warriors to promote efficiencies and consolidate financial statements.
In May 2022, voters in San Antonio approved $2.25M in bond money that will help us expand our Petco Love K9 Center. K9s has not currently received any of the bond funds. To be eligible, K9s must show it has raised a minimum of $2.25M in matching dollars by the end of the 2025 bond period.
- Stand: When the Service Dog stands in front of the Veteran, front and back legs of the dog are parallel to the Warriors shoulders, to create a barrier and space between the Veteran and other people.
- Brace: When the Service Dog is in the stand cue, the Warrior places their hands over the shoulders and back legs of the dog to brace up from a sitting or kneeling position to a standing position.
- Look: When the Service Dog has the Veteran’s back. Many Veterans experience hypervigilance and need eyes on everyone, but struggle when they can’t see who is behind them. The dog moves to the Warrior’s right side and sits facing behind them to watch his/her back
- Lap: When the Service Dog targets their forearms over the Warrior’s thighs (lap) to provide deep-compression therapy calming the Veteran’s emotions and anxiety
- Front: When the Service Dog starts in a down position. The Warrior will walk 6-10 feet from the dog. When given the ‘front’ command, the dog will return to the Warrior and sit in front of the Warrior facing them. This is used primarily when going through a metal detector.
- Under: When the Service Dog will go under the Warrior’s legs, chair, and/or desk/table. This command allows for the dog to stay in a down position to avoid being a tripping hazard to anyone moving around the Warrior.
