K9s For Warriors graduates 500th warrior-canine team

Milestone reached during December’s all-female warrior class graduation

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K9s For Warriors recently celebrated its 500th graduate, seven years after graduating its first warrior-canine team. 

The nation’s largest service dog provider for post-9/11 veterans suffering from PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Sexual Trauma reached the milestone with a total of 507 graduates when December’s class graduated in front of a full crowd of K9s For Warriors supporters, volunteers, donors and staff.

During the ceremony, members of the class presented the organization with a framed photo collage boasting the number 500, stating “We are the class of five hundred, and … we really just wanted to say thank you to the staff and the volunteers and the trainers and the house moms because really without you guys, this wouldn’t be possible.”

Each class of warrior-canine teams trains together for three weeks on one of K9s For Warriors’ two Florida-based campuses. There are 12 classes per year, three of which were female classes in 2018. Each veteran is paired to a highly trained service dog selected to meet her or his needs upon arriving to K9s For Warriors. The team then trains together every day during the program to create the bond between warrior and service dog that will help the veteran reduce symptoms of PTSD, including night terrors, debilitating anxiety and thoughts of suicide.

“We are so proud of what this class achieved, and equally proud to welcome them into the K9s For Warriors family,” K9s For Warriors CEO Rory Diamond said.  “We hope this number of 500 represents hope to every other veteran out there seeking a solution to their invisible wounds. You are never alone. There is hope.”

Since K9s For Warriors’ inception in 2011, it has graduated 507 warrior-canine teams and rescued nearly 1,000 dogs. Roughly 90 percent of the dogs used in the program are from shelters, rescued from abandonment and, often, from euthanasia.

For more information on K9s For Warriors, visit www.k9sforwarriors.org.