This week's Off the Shelf is dedicated to cainine-assisted warrior therapy and the impact assistance dogs have on veterans suffering from physical limitations and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).   

Paws for Purple Hearts is a non-profit organization dedicated to training assistance dogs for placement with individual veterans or veterans care facilities. 

On this week's show, Danielle Stockbridge, Virginia Site Manager for Paws for Purple Hearts, explains what canine-assisted warrior therapy is and how it helps veterans.

She shares the Paws for Purple Hearts story, outlining its founding, growth, and impact on veterans, and discusses how the dogs are trained and placed with veterans training. It takes approximately two and a half years to train a dog for placement. 

Finally Stockbridge walks us through the placement vetting process for pairing a veteran with an assistance dog.  

To learn more about Paws for Purple Hearts or to contribute to the organization, go to: https://www.pawsforpurplehearts.org. Paws for Purple Hearts Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) number is #43093.  

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