ELTOPIA, WA – The pandemic has affected all of us, but a group greatly affected and in need is our veterans.
The mission for the local nonprofit, Service Peace Warriors, is to give back to our veterans. The founders said their love for the country and dogs has inspired them to find a way to make a difference.
Service Peace Warriors is a nonprofit in Eastern Washington that gives fully-trained service dogs to veterans with PTSD and other disabilities.
They are one of the few organizations in the country that allows their dogs to pick the veteran themselves.
Mary Mattox, the lead trainer with the nonprofit, said a trained service dog provides a sense of emotional and psychological security, including learning certain tasks they can do, which could increase their person’s quality of life.
“So when we go into major anxiety attacks, or we have nightmares we are somewhere out in a store, and we get pandemic, our dogs are trained to work for our veterans come in and redirect them,” Mattox said.
Right now, they have extra dogs and would like to give them to veterans with PSTD.
If you are a veteran with a disability, all you have to do is fill out an application. The trained service dogs are free.
If you are not a veteran and would like to help, you can take a puppy home for a year, get them out, socialize them and bring them back.
They are located at 1781 N Bellevue Rd in Eltopia, Washington. Their number is 509-539-7962. You can visit their website at www.servicepeacewarriors.org or email them at info@servicepeacewarriors.org. They are also on Facebook and Instagram.
