Warriors’ Best Friend places service dogs adopted from shelters with veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. The organization received a grant from the Home Depot Foundation to finish construction on the service dog training facility. The new space will allow Warriors’ Best Friend to shelter and train more service dogs who will then be placed with veterans in need of their support.

During the six months of training, each dog is taught 25 commands and exposed to multiple environments before training one-on-one with its new owner. The program is at no cost to the veterans or their families. The new relationship provides physical and emotional independence to each veteran, empowering them to lead free and active lifestyles once again. Future plans for Warriors’ Best Friend include development of walking paths and an additional kennel/training unit on the 65 acres located in Liberty.

Depot, a beautiful Shepherd/Husky mix, was adopted from Great Plains SPCA.

Employees from Home Depot volunteered to build the service dog training facility.

Lyle kayaked with his service dog Gunther.

Additional photos featured in the February 4, 2017 issue