Page 10 - PGA Community News - June '22

Page 10, PGA C.A.N.! June 2022 June 2022

American Humane Encourages Public

To Support Country’s Veterans

During National Military Appreciation Month

Through the Pups4Patriots program, American For more information about the Pups4Patriots program,
Humane provides no-cost service dogs to veterans in both visit americanhumane.org/initiative/pts-service-dogs-for-
a timely and efficient manner. The Pups4Patriots program, veterans and watch youtu.be/t1vTwfRcT2I.
and its training of teams like Charles and Shiloh, is made About American Humane
possible through donor support. American Humane is the country’s first national
“No matter what your limitations are, no matter what humane organization, founded in 1877. For more
your physical or mental issues may be, a service dog will information, please visit americanhumane.org.
be the best thing for you,” Charles said. “It will help break
you out of that shell that you’ve put yourself in over time.”

Forever friends: Pups4Patriots graduates, Charles and his CAMPBELL AND KARLIK, P.A.
service dog, Shiloh. Photo credit: American Humane
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
May is National Military Appreciation Month, a time
when Americans everywhere pay tribute to the dedicated
service members who take a sacred oath to protect and
serve our country. However, for many veterans, the return Wills • Trusts • Estate Planning • Probate
home from war can be yet another daunting battle as they
nurse wounds that might not be visible on the surface. Taxation • Real Estate • Corporations
Tragically, 184 veterans a day are diagnosed with post-
traumatic stress, and 20 take their own lives as a result.
South Florida nonprofit, American Humane aims to
help these heroes with its Pups4Patriots program, which
finds dogs in need of forever homes and trains them to
become service dogs for veterans across the country at
absolutely no cost to the veterans themselves.
Service dogs can transform the lives of these veterans
and give them a renewed sense of purpose. Research
shows that specially trained service dogs can reduce stress
and anxiety levels in veterans while easing reintegration
into social settings and restoring confidence to those
managing traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress.
Since the program began, American Humane has
graduated 70 teams, including this year’s latest duo:
Charles and Shiloh from Brevard County, Fla.
Charles was deployed to Iraq and served in the Army
from 2005 to 2009. After ending his service, the Florida Diane L. KarLiK
native struggled to adapt back into civilian life with his
family, whether it was successfully falling asleep at night
or joining his wife in attending a crowded event.
When he saw a Pups4Patriots program video on Tel: (561) 625-5220
YouTube while conducting general research into acquiring 3450 Northlake Boulevard Suite 210 Fax: (561) 625-5201• Mobile: (561) 797-5004
a service dog, he leapt into action and decided that he was Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33403 EMail: dlkarlik@aol.com
the latest patriot in need of a pup.
“My wife likes to go more places than I’m comfortable
going, so being able to do more stuff with her will be a
great thing,” Charles said. “Most of the time I tell her to
find a friend and just go, because I’m not much for going Mother Nature’s Pantry
to places where there are crowds and lots of people.”
Once accepted into the program, Charles was paired
with a male Labrador retriever named Shiloh, and the two Serving The Community For 40 Years
worked with an American Humane trainer to complete
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building that trust between each other.”
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