CANADIAN VETERAN SERVICE DOG UNIT
Over the last twenty-five years society’s understanding of the effects of trauma has changed dramatically and so has the way we help people struggling with the effects of trauma.
Whether the trauma was experienced on the battlefield or during various military operations, or at a crime scene, an accident scene, a building fire, a disaster or terrorist event, military members, police officers, firefighters, paramedics and first responders are more prone to experience extreme trauma than an average person.
That is why when the effects of trauma manifest itself in conditions like Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Operational Stress Injury (OSI), these heroes who have served our community, province and country deserve our support.
One of the ways those who struggle with PTSD or OSI have been able to recover and gain control over their lives again has been with the assistance of a service dog.
CANADIAN VETERAN SERVICE DOG UNIT (CVSDU) is a registered Canadian charity (Charity Number 839865797RR0001) that exists to train and provide service dogs to those who have served and are suffering from PTSD or OSI.
The CVSDU was initially founded by a group of dog trainers who wanted to help injured veterans by providing them, free of charge with a trained service dog.
Today, those dog trainers still work with and serve the CVSDU, training puppies and dogs to be service dogs, training dogs and veterans/first responders to become qualified teams, and advising the Board of Directors on training and programs for the Unit.
The Board, which is annually elected by the members of the Unit is made up five veterans/first responders from the Unit and two other members from beyond the Unit who were recruited for their expertise and compassion.
The moto of the CVSDU has been “Veterans helping Veterans,” but our understanding of what a veteran is includes former members of the police, fire, ambulance/paramedic, and corrections services. We are making a difference, with your support and help one veteran at a time.