Diamond is a proud accomplice of Warriors’ Finest Buddy, a nonprofit group that professionally trains service canines for veterans, service members and college students. Via Operation Enrichment, Diamond is offering a constant supply of balanced diet to Warriors’ Finest Buddies’ canine recruits, giving all of them the sustenance they should succeed. Right here we meet Joe Jeffers, the manager director and founding father of Warriors’ Finest Buddy, to study extra concerning the nice work the muse does for veterans, service members and college college students.
Rising up in a navy household and spending a long time volunteering at shelters impressed Joe Jeffers to develop a canine coaching program that mixed his ardour for homeless canines and the navy. After spending two years rigorously researching different coaching organizations in the USA, Warriors’ Finest Buddy was based in 2012.
Operation Homestead and Operation Schoolhouse
Initially Warriors’ Finest Buddy was targeted on offering canines to veterans who had traumatic mind harm or extreme put up traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD). The purpose was to assist these veterans reacclimate again into society — go to the shop, go to a sporting occasion, be round folks, household and pals once more.
When Liberty Excessive Faculty in Liberty, Missouri, reached out to see if Warriors’ Finest Buddy may modify their coaching program to supply help to kids in disaster, in addition they began inserting facility canines in colleges. These canines assist college students in some ways, together with supporting kids in disaster, kids who want help with studying vocabulary and people who have behavioral challenges. The canines are there to consolation them, assist them get better shortly, get again to studying and assist the classroom transfer ahead.
Warriors’ Finest Buddy additionally locations canines with service members who’re energetic navy, that means they’ve been authorized to have the canine with them on base. It’s not solely the service member that advantages however their household, different workers members and the bottom usually.
Discovering a Gem within the Tough
Whereas Joe acknowledges that bred canines are vital and supply a perform throughout the coaching surroundings, for Warriors’ Finest Buddy it was actually vital to supply alternatives for rescue canines. That’s why all of their canine recruits are from shelters.
“We take a look at about 500 canines to seek out one canine for our program,” Joe stated. “Once we’re evaluating canines at a shelter, there are the plain issues like dimension, breed and age, however there are additionally the intangibles. There’s the canine’s skill to have empathy and to have unconditional acceptance.”
One of many standards for commencement from the coaching program is to verify the canine can stroll targeted for 3 hours. This may occasionally not seem to be a lot, nevertheless it permits a veteran to go to a film, go to church — issues which are regular for most individuals however overwhelming for the veteran. The canine offers help and companionship and is usually a dialog starter. Little issues like a dialog assist normalize life for a veteran, one thing that might not be doable with out their canine’s help.
“The veterans who we place a canine with in our program are fight veterans. Lots of them have stability points, sensitivities, stiffness. They could have misplaced an arm or a leg. They could have reminiscence loss, confusion, frustration,” Joe feedback. “We deliberately place massive, very match canines with our veterans as they’re very secure. Our canines permit the veteran to place weight on the canine to have the ability to assist get them off the bed or a chair.”
9 Days Can Change a Life
For Joe, probably the most rewarding factor about Warriors’ Finest Buddy is the power to assist folks. He notices a distinction from when a veteran begins the nine-day coaching course of to after they go away with their canine and a smile on their face. In addition they get responses again from their households and their communities.
“The entire veterans have been referred by their psychologist, psychiatrist or Veterans Affairs. They’re accepted into this system if we really feel like we will present a canine for them that’s going to help them, that’s going to assist them additional their lives.”
As soon as a veteran is accepted into this system, Warriors’ Finest Buddy covers all the bills. The canine is free and so they present the journey, resort and meals for the veteran to remain in Liberty, Missouri, with them for 9 days. They usually do coaching in courses, with 3 to 4 veterans at a time. That approach there are different veterans experiencing the identical factor.
The trainers and veterans begin out by doing easy issues like taking the canine for a stroll or going to a grocery retailer. The canine stays with the veteran of their resort, and by day seven or eight they’re doing issues like going to a Royals recreation, going bowling or going to a movie show. The veterans acquire confidence that they will do all these issues and might see how their canine helps them.
“It’s fairly superb after they get accomplished. We now have a commencement on day 9, and from our viewpoint, that’s a reward,” Joe stated. “If you see how these canines are capable of assist the veterans return, do issues that possibly they thought they couldn’t do, like going again to high school to get a distinct diploma. Ending out their navy profession. Having an excellent social life.”
Operation Enrichment
Via Operation Enrichment, which started in 2024, Diamond is proud to supply Diamond Naturals pet food for every meal of each canine recruit, nourishing them with purposeful, high quality substances, rigorously decided ranges of protein, assured probiotics and extra.
“About two years in the past [2022] we decided to alter the canines’ meals,” Joe reviews. “The canines appeared just a little massive and didn’t have the vitality that they did. We switched to Diamond Naturals and since then we’ve seen nice outcomes,” Joe reviews.
What’s Subsequent for Warriors’ Finest Buddy?
Going ahead, the purpose of Warriors’ Finest Buddy is to show different organizations and particular person trainers what they do — increasing their attain and outcomes by serving to others do what they do.
“Diamond is taking part in an excellent half in permitting us to broaden the notice of what we’re doing for these fantastic canines and folks,” feedback Joe.
Study extra about Operation Enrichment — our partnership with Warriors’ Finest Buddy.
