PETS AND VETS GO HAND IN PAW
GIVING VETERANS LIVING WITH PTSD PART OF THEIR LIFE BACK , ONE PUPPY AT A TIME .
« Griggs was determined to find a way to help fellow veterans recover from the stress & isolation they faced when they returned home from combat .»
If you have the urge to chat with the owner when you see a beautiful dog , you are not alone . That is the premise behind the Veteran ’ s Puppy for Life Organization ( VPFL ), which was founded by veteran Frank Griggs . A sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) following his service in Vietnam , Griggs was determined to find a way to help fellow veterans recover from the stress and isolation they faced when they returned home from combat . The VPFL program was designed to pair veterans like him with service dogs that would help them manage their condition and become less isolated in the process . By working with these service dogs when they are puppies , the veterans would form a tight bond with them that would act to open doors with others and distract focus from their own problems .
Griggs is CEO and chairman of VPFL , which was originally founded in 2015 as part of Chapter 1041 of the
Military Order of the Purple Heart , which he also heads as commander . Now acting as a distinct organization , VPFL operates solely through whatever donations Griggs manages to hustle up . “ We have eight veterans wanting puppies right now , but I don ’ t have any puppies to give them ,” he laments .
Griggs ’ s original idea was to purchase fully trained service dogs to pair with veterans , but that idea quickly fell by the wayside once he priced this model at a steep $ 5,000 –$ 35,000 per dog . Instead he developed his own approach , which in retrospect turned out to be even better . Through his program , puppies are matched with veterans shortly after birth , and together , they would complete the American Kennel Club ( AKC ) Canine Good Citizen certification as well as task training specifically geared toward PTSD issues .
The puppies ’ training culminates with a public access test in which the veteran and his puppy are both evaluated
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