This Able Veteran Service Dog Graduation
Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/01/2022
6:00 pm
Location
The Pavilion
Categories
Four veterans will be officially paired with their specially trained PTSD service dogs at a graduation ceremony this Saturday, October 1 at The Pavilion in Marion, IL. The service animals were extensively trained and prepared over the course of the past year by This Able Veteran, a non-profit organization based in Carbondale. This Able Veteran is dedicated to helping veterans heal from the psychological wounds of war.
The veterans and their canine partners have participated in a three-week Trauma Resiliency Program that began on Sunday, September 11 and concludes with the graduation ceremony. During the program, the veteran and service dog teams got acquainted and learned how to live and work together.
Since the inception of This Able Veteran in spring 2011, more than 70 veterans have received partner service dogs to help them overcome injuries – whether psychological, physical or both. The cost of training and providing each service dog is about $30,000 and This Able Veteran relies entirely on fundraisers and donations to accomplish its mission.
The moving and inspirational graduation ceremony will take place at The Pavilion located at 1602 Sioux Drive in Marion on Friday, August 20: reception at 5:30 PM, ceremony at 6:00 PM. This event is free, open to the community and the public is encouraged to attend.
For more information about This Able Veteran, visit www.thisableveteran.org, call 618-964-1162 or email servicedog@