LEVEL TWO PARTNERS

Psychiatric Assistance Service Dogs are for the warriors whose most painful wounds are the ones that are easier to hide but just as debilitating as physical injuries. Veterans who must now battle Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury can be impacted in an absolutely life-saving and life-changing manner with the partnership of a Service Dog. Level Two Partners' main focus is on psychiatric assistance, but will also be able to help with minor physical assistance as well, such as helping to balance while walking. Level Two Partners will also fulfill the ADA's definition of a Service Animal and be granted public access. They will know 60 to 100 commands and their training will have spanned anywhere from 8 to 24 months, depending on their ages when they came into the program as well as the specific needs of their warriors. The final cost to place a Level Two Partner ranges from $10,000 to $20,000.

LEVEL THREE PARTNERS

Physical Assistance Service Dogs are the most highly trained dogs in our program. These Canine Partners are trained to help with physical disabilities and mobility challenges, among other issues. Since many times a warrior who receives serious physical damage also has wounds unseen, this level of partnership includes psychiatric assistance as well. When matched with their warriors and finished with our program, these Canine Partners will fulfill the definition of a Service Animal as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and will have full public access.  They will know 90 to 140 commands, depending on the specific needs of their warriors, and will have gone through approximately 18-24 months of training. The final cost to place a Level Three Partner with his/her warrior, free of charge to the warrior, is approximately $25,000. 

LEVEL ONE PARTNERS

Companion Dogs can give a veteran who has come home unscathed, yet feeling lost, without purpose, and alone a reason to get up in the morning, to engage with the world, and to keep on making an effort to find his/her way in civilian life. Level One Partners are dogs in our program who, for a multitude of reasons, did not quite qualify for Level Two or Three Partners. They will have a solid foundation of basic obedience, at the very minimum, depending on how far they advanced before it became clear they were not perfectly suited to be a Service Dog.