Last week, California Sen. Joel Anderson presented a Senate Certificate of Recognition to K9 Guardians, a 501(c) 3 designated non-profit organization that raises and trains German shepherd dogs as service dogs for veterans with service-related disabilities.
Last week, California Sen. Joel Anderson presented a Senate Certificate of Recognition to K9 Guardians, a 501(c) 3 designated non-profit organization that raises and trains German shepherd dogs as service dogs for veterans with service-related disabilities.
Presenting the awards, Anderson said, “K9 Guardians maintain an unwavering commitment to assisting Veterans. I am grateful to meet the K9 Guardians team and service dogs Nico and Malachi today and honor all the hard work Leisa and her team do for our service members.”
Leisa Tilley-Grajek founded K9 Guardians in February 2015.
“These service dogs play a critical role in the lives of those affected by PTSD or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many of our veterans come home with these issues and other disabilities that can be helped with these dogs,” she said. “We’re also trying to raise more awareness at how helpful to veterans with PTSD having a service dog can be. We lose 22 veterans a day to suicide. More service dogs will help reduce that number.”
Although a young organization, K9 Guardians are already beginning to place dogs in service to those with disabilities. Presently, K9 Guardians is training one of their dogs, Malachi, to prepare him for his future job, serving a Navy SEAL who suffered spinal injuries. One of the specific tasks Malachi enjoys is assisting his handler with removing socks.
It costs approximately $15,000 and 18 months to train a service dog. Funding for raising and training service dogs at K9 Guardians comes from private donations and the occasional grant. K9 Guardians are always looking for volunteers to assist with raising and/or training puppies, or with grant writing and fundraising.
According to K9 Guardians, an estimation of nearly 30 percent of our returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq are diagnosed with PTSD.
For more information about K9 Guardians, you can find their website at www.k9guardians.org.
