Happy Veterans Day! My deepest gratitude to all of the women and men who serve in the armed forces and risk their lives everyday for the sake of our country. Your sacrifices are not forgotten and they should be celebrated today and all days.
As with many veterans, the transition coming back home can be a challenging one, whether they have two legs or four legs. And one non-profit aims to make that transition a little bit easier. In 2015, Anne Gibbs started K9 Hero Haven. She takes in retired military, police, and U.S. customs and border protection dogs and finds forever homes for them all across the country, preferably with their handlers.
“They are trained to either search for narcotics or explosives. It’s just amazing, these dogs, they save so many lives and they protect so many people,” Gibbs said.
The majority of these dogs are Belgian Malinois and German shepherds. Anne currently has about 50 dogs in her care.
Bill Cossari also works at K9 Hero Haven. Bill is an Army veteran himself and says caring for these dogs is rewarding.
“They didn’t have a chance to be a puppy or a dog or anything while they were working, and I see how much joy they have and that makes me happy,” Cossari said.
Before the dogs are adopted out, they go into foster care to adjust to life outside of the kennel.
“They`re out there working every day and they’re protecting people. They’re serving our country with four legs rather than two,” said Gibbs. For this, Gibbs requests that you keep these special animals in your thoughts and celebrate them as well on this Veterans Day.
Click here to learn more about K9 Hero Haven. What do you think about it?
