Staff members of a nonprofit located in Arizona have found a way to impact local veterans by donating dozens of puppies to former military service members.
The doodle-shepherd pups were born on Memorial Day, and the hope is to place them with veterans to provide emotional support.
“These puppies have no idea who they are going to be connected with, but they are going to serve those people for their entire lives,” Dan McSparran, who is with the Arizona chapter of AT&T Veterans in Carefree, told Fox 10 Phoenix.
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The puppies and their trainings are completely free to veterans.
The AT&T Veterans branch in Arizona has gifted puppies born on Memorial Day to veterans in need of support. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
One veteran who was gifted a pup is Heath Horton, an Air Force veteran, Fox 10 reported.
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Horton's dog, named Ben Kenobi, shares the same mother, Duchess, as the other puppies born on Memorial Day.
Ben Kenobi (pictured here) was gifted to a veteran when he was a pup and supports his owner who suffers from PTSD. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
“Ben is mostly there for my emotional support. My military career has afforded me a lot of things, one of them is PTSD I guess, and that’s what he’s there for,” Horton told Fox 10.
All of the dogs will be trained thanks to Dogs4Vets in Gilbert, Arizona.
This organization was founded with the intent of helping veterans find trainings for their service dogs at no cost, according to the Dogs4Vets' website.
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“A service dog performs a task directly related to the owner’s disability,” Shaun Claseman of Dogs4Vets told Fox 10.
Once all the puppies are old enough to head to their new homes, the total number of pets donated will reach 40. (Fox 10 Phoenix; iStock)
“So when we are dealing with disabled veterans, it could be something as simple as hearing loss, all the way up to anything that PTSD involves. Whether it’s anxiety, anger issues, night terrors, anything like that,” Claseman added.
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Once this litter of puppies is old enough to leave their mother, that will mark a total of 40 pups donated in just a year and a half.
Fox News Digital reached out to AT&T Veterans and Dogs4Vets for comment.
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