1. Tails of Valor®, Paws of Honor is a nonprofit that does not receive federal funding. We depend on general public donations, grants, fundraisers, and our volunteers.
    

2. Months of training, housing, and veterinary care are invested in each dog. Not all canines may graduate from our program, yet the cost of our time and resources remains fixed.
    

3. During the canines training period, they learn basic, intermediate, and advanced commands, as well as, tasks for their human. While training methods and duration differ, the American Disability Act (ADA) has developed standards and laws for training Service Dogs. During the day our canines have training support and socialization through our Tails of Valor® canine school including our rehabilitation programs like Journey with A Purpose™.  Our volunteer puppy sitters and raisers help us to provide normal living exposures supporting the skills learned during canine training school on the weekends. Our programs help our Veterans, Law Enforcement, Emergency Personnel and our community to understand what a true service dog is and how to mitigate everyday life with a service canine.
    

4. The entire cost to raise, equip and train these canines are in excess of $25,000. The duration of time that a dog is trained to learn the Service Canine Rules is anywhere up to 24 months. Each one of our dogs is named in honor of a fallen soldier.
    

5. The team pairing process is a customized program with social interactions to obtain the best match. This introduction is just the beginning of the team pairing.  Thorough training following our program protocols will make this team ready for public access leading them to graduation together. Participatory continuation of training will be required by TOV annually, as well as health/wellness checks for our canines.

6. While a service canine is beneficial to those that acquire them, the dedication that comes after obtaining them needs to be recognized by both the participant and the organization.

7. Our Community Canine program, added in 2025, is one that will provide highly skilled canines to mitigate a particular facility's needs while creating a sense of well-being and empathy.  These canines are also paired with handlers chosen by the facility and will be responsible for the health and wellness of the canine and the programs it participates in.  Annual health and wellness will be required and support is a lifetime.

8. Continuation of training with the ability to maintain the commands is a lifetime partnership and our commitment to the team pair to maintain success.

 

Remember the ultimate goal is to make your life better.