“Operation Freedom Paws takes dogs out of shelters and rescue groups and matches them with veterans. We look at the personality of the individual and what they liked to do before they became injured or disabled. We can take and incorporate that with the dog into their lifestyle and get them back out there doing some of those things. When veterans train their own service dogs, they have a mission and a purpose again. We train them as a team so they can navigate life together.

“There is no dishonor in asking for help. We want to take care of others but we can’t do that if we don’t take care of ourselves first.”