GETTING STARTED

TRAINING SERVICE DOGS CAN HEAL YOUR HEART AND MIND

Click a button below to get started either participating in Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy or to apply for a Service Dog, Facility Dog, or Career Change Dog.

Gold circular icon with a white paw print in the center.

ELIGIBILITY

Service Dogs

We place service dogs with Service Members and Veterans facing challenges such as:

Mobility issues. Our dogs can help with tasks such as: retrieving items, pushing buttons for elevators and doors, turning lights on/off, plus many more.

Diagnosed trauma-related conditions (PTSD or TBI). Our dogs help by performing a variety of tasks specifically designed to reduce symptom severity.

Through our thorough application process, our qualified staff determines if a PPH service dog will be a fit for your specific needs.

Facility Dogs

Facility dogs are placed with managers who work in care facilities that serve Service Members, Veterans, and/or military families. They are also placed with counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists (and other specialists) who serve military-connected individuals and wish to integrate a dog into their clients’ treatment plans. Facility dogs provide invaluable benefits to the populations they serve, but they do not meet the legal definition of a service dog and do not have public access rights outside of their assigned facility. Facilities must serve at least 50% of military-connected individuals to qualify. 

Three black service dogs wearing purple vests with the words "Ambassador Dog" sitting in front of a blue sign for the Department of Veterans Affairs at Menlo Park VA Medical Center, Palo Alto Health Care System, 795 Willow Road, with trees and flowers in the background.

Our History

Paws for Purple Hearts is the first program of its kind to offer therapeutic intervention for Veterans and Active-Duty Military.

A young woman with brown hair, wearing a blue shirt, smiling and sitting with a golden retriever puppy, which has a purple vest and is sticking out its tongue. They are in front of a purple wall with white line art of the state of Virginia and the word Virginia written on it.

Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy®

Under the guidance of PPH instructors, service members engage with specially bred Golden Retriever and Labrador puppies.

A person wearing a beige beanie and green shirt sitting on a black folding chair, hugging a black Labrador retriever dog, both displaying affectionate expressions in a room with light-colored walls and wooden floor.

How the Program Works

Read more about how Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® helps ease a Warrior’s symptom severity through assisting PPH trainers with soothing, light-hearted contact with PPH puppies and dogs.

PAWS FOR PURPLE HEARTS SUCCESSES

13,147

Lives we’ve directly improved.

22,263

Therapy session participation.*

*(session slots filled)

Many Warriors attend multiple sessions.

159

Dogs we’ve deployed.

DONATION DOLLARS AT WORK

  • A golden retriever puppy wearing a vest sitting on a wooden floor in front of a purple wall with the logo and name of paws for purple hearts organization.

    With a recurring gift of just $19 a month you will ensure a Service Dog has all of its vaccinations, training equipment and of course toys to get started in their life altering education.

  • A tan Labrador Retriever wearing a vest labeled 'Paws for Hearts Warriors Helping Warriors' and 'In Training' against a purple background.

    Your gift of any amount will be a tremendous help to our Service Dogs in Training. It costs $52 a month in dog food for just one dog.

  • A woman wearing glasses, a black cap, and a light-colored shirt sits on a chair inside a facility, smiling at the camera. She has her arm around a large black dog with a purple harness, which is standing on the floor and resting its front legs on her lap. The background shows a wooden interior with purple walls, some equipment, and a framed photo of a person with a service dog.

    Paws for Purple Hearts Dog are trained to the most exacting certification because our Veterans deserve the best. Thanks to donors like you, they will never have to pay forany of our services. It costs more than $35,000 to raise just one dog to this high standard.