By Katherine Gittman
CP Reporter
Starting in 2011, Paws for Purple Hearts was established as an independent non-profit organization that strives to transform the lives of wounded veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Among the five locations in the United States, one of them is located in Ruther Glen in the heart of Ladysmith. The other locations include San Diego and Menlo Park, California, San Antonio, Texas and Fairbanks, Alaska.
“Our mission is to improve the lives of the wounded warriors coming back to integrate them back into society,” says Alissa Berg, a program assistant and trainer for Paws for Purple Hearts. Through their services, the organization trains service dogs that will benefit the lives of the American warriors who were wounded in combat.
When it comes to training of the dogs, the organization will receive the dogs at eight weeks from a breeder and train them until they are two years of age. Among the time that the dog is in training, there are many different tricks and tasks that the dogs are taught. Some of the tasks involve environmental stimulus such as having them walk over grates on the floor, introducing and desensitizing them to different sounds, and other tasks such as picking up objects off the floor. In the highest level of training, the dogs will learn basic commands such as turning lights on and off, help take off jackets, open doors and push buttons. By the end of training, the dogs will learn at least 106 different commands.
For training that includes helping veterans who suffer from PTSD, the dogs are trained to recognize actions that the veterans may face. For example, if a veteran were to shake their leg, the dog would help alleviate the anxiousness the veteran experiences by placing their head on their lap.
At the Ruther Glen/Ladysmith location, Alissa Berg and Heather Martin maintain the training and are professional service dog trainers. The service can also serve as a way for veterans to receive therapy if they decide to help train the dogs for the wounded warriors. “Veterans can decide if it’s something they really want to do and put their heart into. It may not be the therapy that works best for them but it always seems to work for them because they love interacting with the dogs,” says Martin. Among the training, the dogs will also go on field trips and visit different locations across Virginia in order to provide therapy for veterans across the area. Some of the locations include, the Richmond V.A., Petersburg and the D.C. area.
Although Paws for Purple Hearts serves as a therapeutic and training service for veterans, anyone can volunteer at the location in Ladysmith. By volunteering, anyone can help out either by helping to train the dogs, walk the dogs, cleaning the training facility and even becoming “puppy parents.” Puppy parents can help get the dogs use to the outside world and can train them in a way that is different from the day training at the facility during the nights and weekends.
If interested in volunteering with Paws for Purple Hearts, anyone can call 804-589-0077 and can also check out their Facebook page at Paws for Purple Hearts Virginia.
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