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 dogs 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 Veteran/participant. While training methods and duration differ, the American Disability Act (ADA) has developed standards and laws for training Service Dogs. During the day our dogs have training support and socialization through our Tails of Valor® canine school including our rehabilitation programs like Journey with A Purpose™. In the evenings and weekends, our volunteer puppy sitters and raisers help us to provide normal living exposures supporting the skills learned during canine training school. Our programs help our Veterans, first responders and our community to understand what a service dog is and how to mitigate everyday life with a service dog.
    

4. The entire cost to raise, equip and train these dogs is in excess of $25,000. The duration of time that a dog is trained to learn the Service Dog Rules is anywhere from 16 months 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. Recertification for public access will be required by TOV annually, as well as health/wellness checks for our canines and participants.
    

6. While a service dog 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. 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 easier, not more difficult.