PPH SOUTH CENTRAL REGION

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION: TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, KANSAS, LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

HEADQUARTERS:

SAN ANTONIO, TX

Phone

(210) 526-0100

Hours

M-F 9am to 5pm

Location

Suite 106, 5119 Beckwith Blvd, San Antonio TX, 78249

 

Headquarters established in 2016 in San Antonio, Texas

Two male pilots in green uniforms with patches, one standing and one kneeling, are with a yellow Labrador service dog wearing a vest, in front of a fighter jet on an airfield. The kneeling pilot is holding a water bottle, all three are smiling, and the jet has a shark mouth design on the nose.

Our South Central Region Paws for Purple Hearts team is based ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’. Texas is home to over 1.4 million Veterans with over 100,000 in San Antonio!

We proudly serve our nation’s Warriors from our San Antonio headquarters in a variety of ways. We provide therapy with our service dogs in training to Warrior patients of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System and the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System. Through our innovative form of therapy called Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy®, Warriors facing PTSD and TBI have an opportunity to reduce the severity of their symptoms by participating in our structured therapy sessions, during which they help prepare and train a Paws for Purple Hearts service dog that will be placed with a fellow wounded Warrior. 

Beyond Texas, our region serves our nation’s Warriors in Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. 

Three dogs in front of a GameCoin store, one brown with a pink bandana and two black, all wearing service dog vests.

TIMELINE

  • 2021: Sergeant was placed as a Service Dog and PPH San Antonio partnered with the Cavender Auto Group.

  • 2020: During the COVID pandemic, the Texas team began weekly Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® sessions with the Soldier Recovery Unit at the Brooke Army Medical Center.

  • 2019: Opened Social Therapy programs with a variety of groups from the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital such as the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic, Community Living Center and Hospice and Fisher House.

  • 2018: Commenced Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® sessions with Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program at Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital, the Mental Health group from the Austin VA Outpatient Clinic and the Recreational Therapy group from the Brooke Army Medical Center, Center for the Intrepid.

  • 2017: Opened state of the art facility and started social therapy visits at Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital, Kerrville VA Hospital, Austin VA Outpatient Clinic, and the Texas Challenge Academy.

  • 2016: Established operations in South Texas.

To volunteer at our San Antonio, TX site, click the button and fill out the volunteer application.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Click on a photo in the calendar to see details of that event.

You can also visit our Amazon Wishlist to purchase a needed product like these:

Choose Paws for Purple Hearts Alaska's Gift Registry Address in the list of shipping addresses when checking out.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

SEE PICTURES OF THE IMPORTANT WORK (AND ADVENTUROUS LIVES)

OF OUR SAN ANTONIO SERVICE-DOGS-IN-TRAINING

#pphValerie and #pphVanguard would like to wish you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving Day! 🐶🦃🐾 #PawsForPurpleHearts #Nonprofit #ServiceDogInTraining #Dogs #DogsOfInstagram #Military #Veterans #WarriorsHelpingWarriors #Thanksgiving
#pphValerie and #pphUkulele had a blast meeting Rowdy at UTSA’s main campus today! Thanks for stopping by @rowdyutsa @utsaveterans #PawsForPurpleHearts #Nonprofit #ServiceDogInTraining #Military #Veterans #WarriorsHelpingWarriors #SanAntonio
This Veterans Day, we would like to honor all the brave men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Thank you for your service! 🇺🇸 #PawsForPurpleHearts #ServiceDogInTraining #Nonprofit #Military #Veterans #Dogs #DogsOfInstagr
Happy Birthday, Marine Corps! For 249 years since their start at Tun Tavern during the Revolutionary War, our Marines have been improvising, adapting, and overcoming all obstacles in all situations. Semper Fidelis! #PawsForPurpleHearts #Nonprofit
Just a puppy and his trainer 🐶 #pphVanguard is loving his snuggle time with Trainer Erica 💜 #PawsForPurpleHearts #Nonprofit #ServiceDogInTraining #Veterans #Military #Dogs #DogsOfInstagram #Puppy #WarriorsHelpingWarriors #SanAntonio #Texas
#pphKemmerle is at the San Antonio Board of Realtors Vet Connect event today! Make sure to stop by our table and say hello! #PawsForPurpleHearts #Nonprofit #Veterans #Military #Dogs #DogsOfInstagram #WarriorsHelpingWarriors #SanAntonio #Texas #Ambas
Thank you to Walmart Store #1126 in Boerne for inviting us to your grand reopening celebration last week! We are so happy to have been able to take part in celebrating and to be a recipient of a $1,000 grant as well! We are grateful for the support a
Our pups in training are ready for tricks and treats this Halloween, but mainly just the treats 🍫🍭 Leave a comment for your favorite dog costume! #pphPenn - Space Dog #pphRita - Wonder Woman #pphNash - Tigger the Tiger #pphUkulele - Little Bumbl
Happy Monday! This is a friendly reminder that all of our Service Dogs in Training are a "work in progress" and striving to be the best Service Dogs they can be! #pphPenn is working hard every day on service-related tasks and participating

OUR PARTNERS

  • A black Labrador puppy sleeping on grass next to a person. The puppy is wearing a training vest, and its eyes are closed.

    Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital

    We provide Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy®, social therapy, and informal sessions to patients in a variety of groups and programs.

    LEARN MORE
  • Two black puppies lying on a wooden floor playing with a small stuffed toy. One puppy is looking at the camera, the other is focused on the toy. There are chairs, a yellow waste bin, and toys in the background.

    Austin VA Outpatient Clinic

    We provide social therapy to clinic mental health patients.

    LEARN MORE
  • A smiling golden retriever wearing a black bandana with white text, sitting on grass in a park with trees in the background.

    Brooke Army Medical Center SRU (Soldier Recovery Unit)

    We provide weekly Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy® sessions for Brooke Army Medical Center SRU.

    Learn More

To contact our San Antonio, TX site fill out the form.

TESTIMONIALS AND QUOTES

  • “When I was working with Paul (dog), I stayed calm and was less irritable and more focused and open to treatment at Menlo Park VA.” -

    -Kawika

  • “The dog Leif helped me with my self-esteem. People noticed a difference in when I had her and I’m grateful to Sandra for letting me be a part of this training.”

    -Tim

  • “I looked at this program as a privilege and honor to be a small part of a dog’s life and knowing I was helping a fellow Vet.”

    -Frank

  • “Many of our Veterans report that the dogs help them ‘get out of their own head’ and be more present.”

    -Caroline Wyman

  • “These dogs can really sense your mood. They know when you’re having a bad day. They give you companionship without judgment. Ibarra (dog) doesn’t need to know why I have the symptoms I have. He just wants to be with me.”

    -John Crofut

  • “The Paws for Purple Hearts program gave me a renewed sense of purpose. I was “giving back” and helping another Vet who was not expecting anything in return. It helped me with anger, self-esteem and survival guilt.”

    -John

  • “The program gave me a sense of responsibility and helped me lower my isolation.”

    -Dennis

  • “The comfort of the service dogs distracts from negative thoughts.”

    -Nick

  • “The training helps me lower my stress level and blood pressure. The comfort I get from the dogs far out weighs the thoughts of suicide. Not one negative thought has entered by mind since I started training with the dogs.”

    -John

  • “Working with the dogs gives me peace of mind and helps me control my anxiety issues so I can lead a more productive life.”

    -Monty

  • “Learning to be more patient and understanding. How dogs think helps me improve on trying to understand others.”

    -Jeff

  • Our PPH facility dog's impact has been substantial. The fact of the matter is that he boosts moral for the employees, keeps us sane, and the clients love working with him.

    -Mental Health Employee

  • There's only one word for my PPH dog Ollie: Priceless!

    -Rob S, a PPH Service Dog Recipient

  • PPH was the best therapy for my husband and it brought him closer to me and our daughter.

    -Wife of a PPH Participant

  • Ethan, a PPH dog, showed me there is love and happiness, outside of grief and despair.

    -A PPH Warrior Canine Trainer

  • Webb was so much help to me while I was recovering in the VA Menlo Park.... When both King and Webb came to visit, I was in heaven as I have two Bernese Mountain dogs that I hadn't seen in weeks.

    -Bill Dable

  • One of my treatment goals was to get better sleep. Having Lief let me feel safe, and I started sleeping better. She actually woke me from a nightmare, too... My anxiety level went down. I was not so hyper-vigilant when I had her.

    -Tim

  • The program helps not only the Veteran who receives the dog as theirs, but it also helps our healing process while we train them.

    -A PPH Veteran-trainer

Three black Labrador retrievers sitting in front of a sign for the Department of Veterans Affairs at Menlo Park VA Medical Center. Two of the dogs are wearing purple vest patches that identify them as ambassador dogs, and they are on leashes. The background shows trees and flowering bushes.

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 in a blue shirt smiling and sitting with a golden retriever puppy in front of a purple wall with a white map 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 man sitting on a chair hugging a black Labrador retriever in an indoor setting with light-colored walls and wooden flooring.

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.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

Donations to Paws for Purple Hearts can change a Warrior’s life from hopelessness to optimism.

Your generous, tax-deductible donation helps thousands of Warriors facing the visible and invisible wounds of war.  Our Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy helps them heal as they help others – all with the goal of raising top tier service dogs for Veterans and active duty Service Members with mobility and trauma challenges.