Mark & NeanderPaul’s “4 Pets For Vets” campaign on 100.7 KSLX radio is ramping up this week with a soft opening. They plan to launch the campaign on Thursday at Desert Diamond Casino, a major sponsor of the campaign. Next week, June 17-21, Mark and NeaderPaul will be working hard during their morning show to promote donations for Soldier’s Best Friend. Link to page
Tied to PTSD Awareness Month, their goal is to raise $20,000, enough to give four veteran/dog teams everything they need to train and qualify as a service dog at no cost to the veteran. Funding is used to provide each veteran/dog team with professional training, equipment and supplies to care for and train the dog, veterinary care and the support they need to successfully complete this life-changing training program. It is amazing how lives can be changed once the veteran has a trained service dog who can help them cope with their symptoms of PTSD and/or Traumatic Brain Injury. Veterans who had become nearly home-bound before entering the program can better handle going to public places once again with their trained canine partner by their side. Some veterans who were working or going to school before entering the program, but struggling to do so, find their daily routine much easier to navigate thanks to their service dog. In turn, their families, friends, co-workers and communities are also positively impacted.
Last year, the KSLX audience rallied behind this campaign in an astounding way. We were so thankful for their strong support. Because of their generosity, many lives were forever changed: veterans who can enjoy the everyday things most of us take for granted, Arizona homeless dogs who now have a forever home and bonded partner, families, friends and many others. We know this program makes a difference from the words of some of those who have been impacted:
“Thank you for giving us back my husband, their dad and grandpa, our hero. You are not just touching two lives, you are touching families.”
Wife of a veteran graduate – April 2019
“For many years, my PTSD was treated with multiple medications. Despite those prescriptions, I remained anxious. I had no desire to get off the lounger, to go out, or to accomplish anything. Since bonding with Shadow, I am less frustrated and anxious. Some meds have been eliminated and others decreased. I found myself looking forward to the days I was scheduled for SBF training. Due to [my trainer’s] knowledge, skills and patient encouragement, I enjoyed learning how a dog thinks. I am willing to go to new places with Shadow and reconnect with the world. I can count on her to ’watch my back.’ I am, also, grateful for Shadow’s help with my balance and for her retrieving my dropped objects. Thank you to the entire Soldier’s Best Friend staff for ’my little shadow,’ my friend.”
Graduate December 2018
