America's Vetdogs the Veterans K-9 Corps

Training program - our instructors complete a three year apprenticeship program before they become certified instructors. During fy 2022, 212 dogs began formal training for placement with a consumer of either America's Vetdogs -the veteran'Veterans's K-9 Corps, Inc. or its related organization, the guide dog foundation for the blind, Inc. America's Vetdogs is managed by the guide dog foundation and reimburses for the services it receives from the guide dog foundation. Formal training of an assistance dog takes approximately three to four months during which time the foundation cares for all dogs. Dogs are housed on campus in state of the art kennels in the designated training center. Not every dog that enters formal training becomes a guide or service dog. the foundation currently estimates a success rate of approximately 50%. After completion of formal training, the dog is ready to be teamed with a consumer. the training of the dog and the student are customized to the individual and their disabilities. Harnesses, back packs and other required accessories are customized to the needs of the particular consumer. the consumer or student and their dog are trained to work together as a team either on our campus, in the consumer's home community, or a combination of the two. the process and the organization's commitment continues after placement with aftercare, follow-up, support, and outreach throughout the life of the dog. the cycle is perpetual, with each stage financed 100% by the organizations.

Student and graduate services during fy 2022, America's Vetdogs graduated 14 guide dog teams, 33 ptsd/service dog teams, 43 service dog teams, 3 seizure/service dog teams, 2 hearing/service dog teams and also placed 6 facility dogs; one at fort bragg, one with courthouse dogs, one with oakland va medical center, one with brooke army medical center, one with madigan army medical center, and one with the lakeshore foundation. In addition, the guidedog foundation graduated 39 guide dog teams, 2 service dog teams, and 1 facility dog placed at Georgia academy for the blind. Each consumer's needs are evaluated, and if possible a dog is trained to meet those needs. Some of the disabilities served include: physically disabled, prosthetic limb recipients, traumatic brain injuries, profound hearing loss, and those with a primary diagnosis of ptsd. In addition to the tasks, the dogs are trained to mitigate a person's disability. Service dogs also provide comfort and provide re-socialization assistance for our Veterans. Students typically stay on campus approximately two weeks in the student residence which can accommodate up to 17 students at a time. Each student has a private room with private bath. the residence is staffed 24 hours per day. All meals are provided. Students can also receive home training, where the foundation sends a certified instructor to the student's home community.

Breeding and puppy program - during fy 2022 the organization supported 121 dogs in the breeding colony. the breeding colony is carefully selected after extensive screening and testing. During fy 2022, 359 puppies were added to the programs of America's Vetdogs and the guide dog foundation. Puppies spend seven to eight weeks in our puppy nursery. From the nursery they spend approximately one year in the home of a volunteer puppy raiser or prison puppy program before coming back to the organization for formal training. During fy 2022 a total of 359 puppies were placed. 249 puppies were placed in puppy raiser homes and 110 puppies participated in our prison puppy program. the organization currently supports puppy raisers in nearly 20 states and has agreements with 14 prisons throughout Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Maine, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. the professional puppy staff supports our puppy raising volunteers and our staff typically visits each prison weekly to follow up and train the inmate handlers who are carefully screened to ensure they are suitable candidates to participate in this program.

Public education - public education and outreach are important parts of the mission of America's Vetdogs. This past fiscal year we distributed three issues of the sentinel, which were distributed to an average of 63,000 recipients per mailing. the sentinel is the official newsletter to educate the public about assistance dogs, assistance dog etiquette and disability issues. Organization graduates, puppy raisers and caretakers went on over 50 speaking engagements off campus and each one typically has an audience of 30 or more people. Vetdogs has embraced social media as a means to reach our supporters efficiently and effectively. We have nearly 80,800 facebook likes and nearly 13,200 twitter followers. Additionally we have approximately 66,200 followers through youtube, linkedin, and instagram. During fy 2022 America's Vetdogs partnered with major league soccer team atlanta united fc to raise service dog king, national hockey league team Washington capitals to raise service dog biscuit and major league basesball team the new york mets to raise service dog shea as a means to educate the public about tasks assistance dogs are trained to do for people with disabilities and provide visability of America's Vetdogs for those that may seek our services. Vetdogs representatives have made presentations at several state conventions for the Veterans association, american legion, Veterans of foreign wars, and the marine corp league.