About Us

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Battle Buddies Therapy Dogs was founded on a simple belief: no veteran should have to face life's challenges alone. Our mission is to improve the lives of veterans and their families by connecting them with carefully trained therapy, service, and companion dogs while providing the education, guidance, and long-term support needed for every partnership to thrive. We believe that successful human-canine teams are built through trust, patience, and positive reinforcement, creating lasting relationships that benefit both the handler and the dog.

Our organization works closely with veterans to understand their individual needs and goals before matching them with an appropriate dog or training program. Every partnership is supported through individualized training, follow-up coaching, community events, and ongoing mentorship from our experienced volunteers and staff. Because every veteran's journey is unique, we remain committed to providing continued support long after a dog has gone home, ensuring both the veteran and their canine companion have the resources they need to succeed together.

Every dollar donated to Battle Buddies Therapy Dogs directly supports our mission of changing lives through the human-animal bond. Donations help provide veterinary care, vaccinations, food, training equipment, enrichment supplies, educational materials, transportation, insurance, and the specialized training required to prepare therapy, service, and companion dogs for successful placements.

 Contributions also allow us to offer affordable or no-cost programs to veterans who might otherwise be unable to access these life-changing services.

As a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization, we are committed to using every donation responsibly and transparently. Our volunteers generously donate thousands of hours each year because they believe in our mission, allowing more of every contribution to be invested directly into our programs rather than administrative costs. Whether someone gives $10 or $10,000, every donation helps strengthen the lives of veterans, improve animal welfare, and expand the reach of our services within the community.

The bond between people and dogs is more than companionship—it is a relationship that can foster resilience, independence, and hope. For many veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, depression, or the invisible wounds of military service, a trusted canine companion can provide comfort, emotional support, routine, and a renewed sense of purpose. Caring for a dog encourages daily physical activity, healthy structure, social engagement, and meaningful connection, all of which are recognized as important contributors to overall mental health and well-being. While dogs are not a replacement for professional medical or mental health care, they can serve as a valuable complement to evidence-based treatment when paired with ongoing healthcare and counseling.

The scientific evidence supporting canine-assisted interventions continues to grow. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis led by researchers at Purdue University and the University of Arizona examined more than 40 studies involving military veterans with PTSD and found that partnership with a trained psychiatric assistance dog was associated with significant and clinically meaningful reductions in PTSD symptom severity, along with improvements in mental health and social functioning. The authors concluded that psychiatric assistance dogs can be an effective complementary intervention when integrated into a veteran's overall treatment plan.

Additional evidence comes from the largest clinical trial to date, published in JAMA Network Open in 2024 and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers followed 156 military members and veterans diagnosed with PTSD and found that participants partnered with trained service dogs experienced significantly lower PTSD symptom severity, reduced anxiety and depression, less social isolation, greater companionship, and improved quality of life after just three months compared with veterans receiving standard care alone. Importantly, researchers emphasized that service dogs should be viewed as a complementary therapy that enhances—not replaces—traditional treatments such as psychotherapy and medication.

At Battle Buddies Therapy Dogs, we believe every veteran deserves access to compassionate support, evidence-based training, and the healing power of the human-animal bond. Whether through therapy dog visits, appropriately trained service dogs, or the lifelong companionship of a well-trained canine partner, our goal is to help veterans build confidence, reduce isolation, strengthen daily functioning, and improve their quality of life—one partnership at a time.

• Assistance Dogs for Military Veterans with PTSD: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-synthesis (PLOS ONE, 2022)
• Service Dogs for Veterans and Military Members With PTSD: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial (JAMA Network Open, 2024)
• National Institutes of Health: Service Dogs May Reduce PTSD Symptoms for Military Members and Veterans