G-8GW6WNVDCH 2301875706914928 Training Service Dogs for Veterans - Animal Posse

Episode 40

Trick for Treat: Training Service Dogs for Veterans

Published on: 31st October, 2025

This week, we go behind the scenes with Tyler and Chris of Forgotten Coast K9, a nonprofit dedicated to partnering highly trained service dogs with veterans. They pull back the curtain on the rigorous, life-changing process, explaining the specific "tricks" these dogs learn—from deep pressure therapy to interrupting night terrors—that become the ultimate "treat" of a stable, functional life for a veteran.

Tyler and Chris share incredible real-life stories of the profound difference these dogs make, transforming struggles with PTSD into steps toward recovery and renewed purpose. This is more than just dog training; it's about forging an unbreakable bond and giving our heroes a second leash on life.

#ServiceDogs #Veterans #PTSD #K9Training #VeteranServiceDog #ForgottenCoastK9

Transcript
Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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If you're a regular listener, you know

we usually shine a spotlight on the

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incredible people and organizations

that are making a difference in

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the lives of animals from rescuers,

veterinarians, advocates, and volunteers.

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Today, however, we're gonna flip

the script a little bit and explore

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the other side of that powerful

bond, how animals make an incredible

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difference in the lives of people.

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So we are honored today to

welcome Forgotten Coast K9.

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They are a nonprofit doing truly

transformative work by training and

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pairing service dogs with veterans.

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They aren't traditional animal welfare,

but they are animal lovers and their

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mission is all about healing and service.

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So get ready to hear some inspiring

stories of two and four-legged heroes

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coming together to change lives.

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welcome to the show, Chris and Tyler.

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I can't wait to hear about the

forgotten coast K9 and what y'all do.

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Before we get started, if I can get each

of you to introduce yourselves and tell

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us a little bit about your background.

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Chris: Tyler, go ahead.

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You go first.

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Tyler: Thank you so much for having us.

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My name is Tyler.

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I'm the CEOO of, Forgotten Coast K9

Working here for about five years now.

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I served in the Marine Corps for

five years, deployed Afghanistan

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once from, 2012 to 2013.

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Got out.

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I was lost.

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I had no idea what to do with myself.

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And I was kind of dealing with some

things and, , I always wanted to be

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the guy that I wish I had mentoring

me, when I got out of the Marine Corps.

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And so now I have that opportunity

working for the non-profit, and it's

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just been amazing work, you know,

creating a huge passion for me.

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Be able to work with so many people

that are mountains compared to me.

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And, and so it just, you know, living

the life and, and loving every bit of it.

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Chris: Alright.

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My name is Chris.

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I was in the Air Force for four years.

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Got out of there, spent some time, got

married, did the corporate America thing,

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and then wound up, being a cop for almost

10 years worked in the K9 unit down in

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Florida and wound up running the unit.

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And that's kinda where I got

into the dog training thing.

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Couple of circumstances happened that

we had to see the difference that the

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service dog can make in somebody's life.

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Went from making a lot of money, training

dogs to making no money doing service

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dogs, but it's a much better life.

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We've helped over 40, what is it now?

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Tell her 43.

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Yeah.

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That we've done over the

last few years since:

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Which to some department, some

guys hitting a huge amount, but we

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concentrate on the quality of our dogs.

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And the personal training with the guys,

our training school is longer than most

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for the actual hamper that gets the dog.

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So I've been doing this since 2020.

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We officially became a a 5 0 1 C3.

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We've got dogs in.

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I think it's 14 states now,

plus Puerto Rico and Ecuador.

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So we are doing things to give it these

dogs in the hands of our veterans and

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first responders because our biggest

mission is obviously to mitigate the

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issues that people are having with their

health issues with the PTSD, high and

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low blood sugar, blood pressure, all

of the seizures, all of the things.

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But the the 22 a day is the popular

number about suicides and that's

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what we really are pushing to prevent

through the use of service dogs.

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But as Tyler can attest, he did some

research and if you include active

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duty and current serving first

responders, that number is well up

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over 40 a day according to the CDC.

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So we've got a long way to go and we

are doing our best to make a difference.

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Dixie: What is your core mission?

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Chris: To provide training and service

dogs to veterans and first responders to

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help mitigate the effects of PTSD, the

nightmares and things like that through

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the use of well-trained service dogs.

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Dixie: So you're making a difference

in the lives of people and also in

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the lives of those service dogs.

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'cause I imagine they're

treated quite well.

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Chris: They are pampered beyond belief.

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It is the craziest thing.

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My daughter is a research scientist at

Vanderbilt University and she always

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talks about how when you talk to people

about taking care of themselves, how

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they just blow it off, whether no

matter what it is that they're dealing

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with, but if you tell them that your

pet needs to lose this amount of weight

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and this amount of time you get this

done, they will spend thousands of

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dollars to make sure that PET is okay.

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That's just for what they

call their fur babies.

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When you translate that into a really,

a lifesaving buddy for them, these

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dogs are pampered beyond belief.

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We've got a meeting next Monday with

a new dog food company out of the

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Atlanta, Georgia area that does freeze

dried dog food to help pump up the

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nutrition for these guys, for their dogs.

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So there's a lot going on.

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Dixie: Do you offer support after

the veterans get their dogs?

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Chris: Yeah, actually every one of

the veterans that comes to the program

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has our personal cell phone numbers.

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We've got guys that were in some of

the first batches that came through

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that we still talk to quarterly.

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They'll call us outta the blue, . If

they do have an issue with the dog we've

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set back with 'em and go live online

with 'em and talk through the issues.

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We also have just over the last

year and a half maybe Tyler, we've

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started working towards some mental

health outreach programs as well.

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Yep.

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Too, because everybody, I always

say dog treats everything.

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I've been saying it forever, but the

the truth is that they've got to be at a

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certain level for the dog to help them.

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So guys that are super struggling, we've

had a couple that we've gotten hooked

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up with some other programs to really

focus on their mental wellbeing before

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they get the dog, then the dog winds

up being a better tool for them once

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they've got some other issues sorted out.

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So we really are trying to become

a whole health spot for 'em.

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Dixie: Can you go over the

main programs that you offer?

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Chris: We used to do a build a battle

buddy program or, but and that's the

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same concept that we are still doing,

but what it is we'll take, do some

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extensive interviews, Tyler's on the

application review committee along

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with David Easterbrook and Carolyn

Smith, board members and trainers

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and veterans, all three of them.

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So what we do is once we get through the

paper application process, then Carolyn

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will take, she'll spend hours on the

phone with these people and their families

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and making sure the right fit, learning

their personalities, learning everything

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about Carolyn is is an amazing woman.

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Absolutely amazing.

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She's trained what Tyler, five

or 6,000 dogs in her lifetime.

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Yeah.

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And she's really good at taking dogs',

personalities and matching with people.

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So she actually looks through

the litters after spending all

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the time on the phone with guys.

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And guys and girls

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but the thing that she's been

able to do so effectively is match

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the dog's personality with the

person going through the program.

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So once we get all of that sorted, then

the veteran first responder starts class

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live online with Carolyn every week.

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When that happens, either myself,

Tyler, Carolyn, or Travis is another

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trainer by up in bu, Ohio gets the

dog, gets the puppy, and they're

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doing the house, breaking with all

the basic skills that the dog needs.

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And after eight or 10 weeks.

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What happens is we put them all together.

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So it just depends on the progress, right?

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We say eight weeks, but it could be 12.

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It just depends on everybody's progress

and how everything's coming together.

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So what happens at that

point is we all get together.

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In the past we've been going to them

and doing this, but now with the new

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facility that we're working on that

we'll talk about in a little bit, we're

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gonna bring them to us and we'll spend

10 to 14 days with them taking everything

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they learned online with Carolyn and

turning it into practical applications

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with the puppies that they get.

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So after that's done, we send

them back home with the puppies.

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The puppies already housebroken,

crate trained, so all of the stress

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really of having a puppy is minimized.

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And they then spend another

3, 4, 5 months on line.

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Again, depends on how

everybody's tracking.

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Still live online with Carolyn

once a week, and they're sending us

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videos and they're doing homework,

and we got all of these things that

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Carolyn has this stuff spaced out.

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And what that does is it allows them

to, as they're honing their handling

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skills and us reviewing it online,

they're bonding with that dog.

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So when we decide that they're ready,

we bring 'em all back together again.

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And we spend another 10 to 14

days really focusing on any issues

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that they had during the process.

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And focusing the dog bin, utilizing

the training that they've had to teach

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them how to focus on the individuals

own issue, whether it be PTSD,

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blood pressure, all of the things.

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We teach them how to mitigate

their issues by using the dog.

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And then we also put some

certifications on 'em.

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We've got our own little certification

that we go through, even though.

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There's a lot of things that you can buy

online that says you've got a service dog.

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It's all this stuff.

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Oh, get on, use your dog in the register.

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There's no such thing as a national

registry for a service dog.

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It's all bs.

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It's all a way to make money online.

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It's not happening, but we do a quote

unquote certification in house based

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on the things that they're needed.

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But we also do an a akc K

nine, good citizen, and K9 good

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citizen urban documentation.

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So they've gotten a lot of paperwork

with them when they go to the places.

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Because of the rampant

use of fake service dogs.

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We give our guys a lot of paperwork

so that when they go to it we've got

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answers for the people that are asking

the questions so that our people have a

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stress-free travel time with their dogs.

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Dixie: Yeah, I was actually gonna bring

that up about the fake service dogs.

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Because I know that's something that, oh,

the, we see frequently, like we were just

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at an amusement park and they have these

fake service dogs walking around the park

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and they're like a fake service dog 'cause

they like dye on blue and stuff like that.

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It's, you can look at 'em.

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Bane

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Chris: of my, yeah, the

bane of my existence.

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Tyler and I went to Puerto Rico to

deliver a dog to a Navy Seal down there.

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That's another thing

that's different about us.

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He had contacted five or six of the

companies that have been around forever

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and he, they wanted him to leave his

family, leave his son, leave his job

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and come spend two or three weeks in the

states with them to go do the dog thing.

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In cases like that, we just

pack up and go to them.

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That's the beauty of us being a

smaller organization and not having

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the restrictions that a lot of people

put on their trainers and stuff.

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We just take off and go.

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So on that trip, Tyler tell 'em about

the service dogs on the way back.

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Tyler: That's right.

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Yeah.

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We were coming back through through,

and we were sitting there at the gate

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and there was, the lady had a what?

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A poodle and like a really

tall poodle and yeah,

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Chris: a full standard poodle

that was completely untrained,

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was dragging her everywhere.

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Tyler: Yeah.

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And she saw Nova.

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And Nova just completely calm, she's

sitting I have her sitting right

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below my legs, in between my legs

and whatnot, just sitting there

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and this dog's just going nuts.

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And then.

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Then right next to us.

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Somebody had a what?

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A Yorkie, same thing.

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Yeah.

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Chris: A Yorkie has a service dog.

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Tyler: Yeah.

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And their little suitcase,

little carry-on thing.

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I don't even know what service

that dog is gonna provide.

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And but we saw that numerous

times in Puerto Rico.

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And then the thing that really

got me was when we went to the

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VA hospital with our, Oh yeah.

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Remember that?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And the doctor refused to see a recipient

because he had a service dog with him.

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Chris: He, right away, he quote unquote,

had a bad experience with a dog one time,

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and he's not comfortable working on a

man that may have to have surgery as a

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va, as a decorated Navy Seal refused to

serve him because he had his dog with him.

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Yeah, it's from the fake service dogs.

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It's from everybody having these bad

reactions, a service dog, number one,

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has to perform a medical function.

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It has to perform a medical function.

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Now, they can't ask you what your issue

is as to why you had to have it, but

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they can ask you what your dog is.

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Two questions.

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Is that a service dog?

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And what does he do?

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Not what does he help you out

with, but what does he do?

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They have to have an actual response,

a physical response with that dog,

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and that's the medical function that

it serves, and they just don't do it.

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These guys register these dogs online.

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I've seen fake IDs for service

dogs, for people that I know in

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the training industry that have

never even heard of the person that

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had their credentials on there.

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It's insane what they're doing

now, instead of just saying.

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He's an emotional support dog.

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I need him in this situation and

dealing with whether he can or cannot

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go into a arrest or in a hotel.

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They just ruin it for everybody.

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These dogs are generally aggressive.

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They bark, they yap, they do

all of the things that you

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cannot do as a service dog.

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There's even people that say that

service dogs can be trained to protect.

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You can be protection dogs as well.

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And the ADA is pretty clear on that.

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There's been a couple of

case laws that came out.

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The original one said that, yeah, your

dog can protect you and it can to a point.

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It can't be trained in protection.

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But if you're at an ATM in a wheelchair

and somebody aggressively comes up

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to you and your dog turns to protect

you, that's not a violation of a DA

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unless your dog has been trained.

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To protect you through police

training, bite work training, like

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sport training and that kind of thing.

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So there's just so much that comes

into these state service dogs.

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It is absolutely critical that at

some point we get some regulation.

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Now, other dog trainers and other people

are going to crucify me for that remark.

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But come on guys you all know it.

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We need some sort of, I'm talking about

overbearing government intrusion, but

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we gotta have a standard somewhere.

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Tyler: There's gotta be accountability.

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That's really what it comes down to.

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And there's no accountability for

the people that take full advantage

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of their quote unquote service dogs

when they don't do anything for 'em.

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But they want to take their

dogs with them wherever they go.

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That's not how this works.

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Yeah, but they're taking full

advantage of a system that's no

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there's no true regulation on it.

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And all they have to say is oh no.

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I plan on training this dog to

be a service dog, and that's it.

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Then boom, I'm gonna domin this.

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You're, you have a service dog

and that, that needs a stop.

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Chris: Yeah.

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Nearly any dog can slap on a service dog

in training vest and never get questioned.

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Phil: Yeah.

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And what she was getting at is,

so we vacation in Orlando a lot,

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and we go to an amusement park

there, and you'll see the dogs.

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Usually if it's an actual

service dog, it'll say, don't

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touch, or something like that.

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But then you get that person that has

a dog,, it says service dog on it.

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But then everyone's petting a dog and

it's getting on people's laps and,

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jumping up on their arms, on their chest.

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I'm like, that's not a real service dog.

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Chris: Yeah.

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We took a dog.

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We've got a dog that was donated to us,

and we don't usually take donated dogs.

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Just, . So we know about the longevity

of the dog because, we had an

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experience with a gentleman that had

waited three or four years to get a

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service dog finally got a service dog.

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Two years later it died on the

o operating table with complete

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cardiovascular system collapse.

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And it was a genetic thing.

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So we fully encourage everybody.

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I worked with the sheriff's office

in Florida that I live near that

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to help them during every one of

our events, getting their dogs

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adopted and all that kind of stuff.

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But, we found that just because of

the one incident, especially KC out

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there, we saw the depression, how low

his depression got after he waited

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all that time to get a service dog.

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And then only had it for

two years and it died.

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We really started looking at the health

of the dogs along with the personality.

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Dixie: So the dogs do remain with the

veterans then during the training?

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I just wanna make sure I'm

understanding that correctly.

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Chris: After their initial eight

to 10 weeks, they get the dogs.

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The first eight to 10 weeks,

the dogs are with trainers and

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the people are with Carolyn.

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And then after that we bring them together

and then they're with them from then on.

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Our total training process can take up to

a year before they actually come back with

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us and get certified and take their dogs.

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Dixie: Is that a typical thing or

is that unique to your organization?

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Chris: It's unique to us.

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Most people do the rescue dogs do the

shelter dogs, which is amazing because

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they've got the staff to do that, right?

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They've got 10, 15, 18 trainers and

volunteers and more power to 'em.

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Happy they can be able to do that.

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But with our limited resources and our

limited stuff, we decided to flip that and

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spend more time training the individual

so that they're better equipped to handle

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anything that comes up with that dog.

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So yeah dogs are usually about 18 to

20 weeks old when they get their dogs,.

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But the puppies have already been

through basic obedience crate

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training, potty training, traveling

cars, exposure to environments.

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We walk through city Park, we walk in

airports, we do all the things to expose

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to all, to expose 'em to all environments.

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So it takes that stress off of our people.

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Dixie: How much does it cost

to train all these dogs?

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Since you're going and traveling with

the individuals and you're sending

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the trainers to the individuals?

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Yes.

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Chris: I go pick up the dogs

and take them to the trainers.

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So I spend a lot of time on the road.

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A lot.

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We've got our vans, what, not

even quite three years old,

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just got 120,000 miles on it.

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So yeah.

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We spend a lot of time on the road,

but yet the cost is somewhere between

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22 and $30,000 per dog for our costs.

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That's all of the puppy

itself, the vet bills, the.

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The trainer's hours the food, the

everything that goes into that, the

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classroom hours for the student,

the training hours for the puppies.

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There's the travel, you've got hotel, all

of the things that you have on the road.

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And that's where we're at.

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We were able to bring it down.

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We were using an outside training company

for the first two and a half, three years.

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We started diverging paths as

far as the training regimen went

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and our costs were with them.

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We were 4 4500 to $6,000 more

using the outside company.

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But now that, I looked at our

board of directors and I've got

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some amazing set of trainers.

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Decoys and just awesome people

in the board of directors.

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So we started what's called our Service

Pause Academy and bought everything

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in house and we were able to shave a

lot of money off of the cost of it.

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Dixie: How many trainers do you have?

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Chris: We've got Seven, that

we utilize consistently.

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Dixie: And do you try to re

recruit newer ones as well?

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Chris: We're not right now.

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The ones that I've got, we're able

to coordinate our schedules and we

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are actually all pretty good friends

before we started before we really

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got involved with the training

side of everything with each other.

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We've been friends for all, for a bunch of

years, so we keep it with those right now.

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We'll let some volunteers come

and handle the dogs, and we'll

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teach them how we do things.

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But for the most part we're

pretty happy with where we're at

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now because we're so spread out.

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I've got trainers in Ohio and Michigan

two in Ohio, Michigan Alabama, Florida,

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and Montana right now and Tyler's in Texas

now, so we have one in Texas as well.

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:

Dixie: And Tyler, what do you

primarily do in the organization?

373

:

Tyler: So I'm the COO but I

handle what, 10 or 15 different

374

:

hats, I handle the website stuff.

375

:

Go ahead Chris.

376

:

Chris: I can't do what I do

physically without Tyler.

377

:

Period.

378

:

He's all the events, helps

me set all that stuff.

379

:

Handles the logistics.

380

:

The logistics, moves the dogs around.

381

:

He also does, for lack of a better term,

sales, he goes out and recruits people

382

:

to become on board and be sponsors for

us, especially now that we're building a

383

:

big facility now and doing those things.

384

:

He also, geez, he's a brand ambassador.

385

:

He does work with three or four

different companies right now,

386

:

getting our logos on their products

and coordinating all of that.

387

:

He is our NASCAR liaison.

388

:

We've been involved with NASCAR pretty

heavily over the last couple of years.

389

:

It's really helped boost our visibility.

390

:

Plus he kicks butt when it comes to the

Google stuff, so keeping us up there

391

:

at the top, near the search engine.

392

:

So the Tylers is one of those

that he does it all for us.

393

:

And just can't say enough even though

every now and then, he is a Marine, I

394

:

do have to communicate and crayon, but

395

:

Phil: and just hope

that he doesn't eat him.

396

:

Yeah.

397

:

Tyler: Yeah, I knew it was coming.

398

:

Dixie: Tell me about the facility

399

:

Chris: Okay.

400

:

We are forgotten 'cause K9 because my

dad was born and raised in Port St.

401

:

Joe, Florida.

402

:

And about the time I started this

business, we looking for a name to do it.

403

:

We realized dad had dementia.

404

:

So all of our symbolism the

degree of children, our compass

405

:

has personal meaning, it's all

of this deeper stuff with us.

406

:

We try to connect everything together.

407

:

Port St.

408

:

Joe Gulf County, Florida where dad

was born and raised, and that is

409

:

the forgotten coast of FL I've got

a good relationship with those guys.

410

:

I go down there all the time.

411

:

I think there's only been about

four summers in all of my 58 years.

412

:

I haven't been down there for

two or three weeks of the summer.

413

:

It's just, home to me.

414

:

So when we were looking at

doing a facility, I lost my dad.

415

:

Last August 4th, dad finally passed

away from complications , to dementia

416

:

and his friends reached out to me

and said that they had been talking

417

:

to the county commission down there.

418

:

And so they got me a meeting

and went in and talked.

419

:

And Gulf County, the people

of Gulf County are amazing.

420

:

They have one of the most

beautiful s memorial parks

421

:

you'll ever see overlooking.

422

:

It's on what they call Highland View.

423

:

It's where the old white House used to

be overlooking the base, which is high

424

:

heel, to these just incredible park,

beautiful memorial for all those guys.

425

:

And I got together.

426

:

Gulf County usually only does a 15

or 20 year lease on their property.

427

:

They won't sell their property

because it's, county property.

428

:

But what they did for us was

they gave us four acres, just a

429

:

couple miles north of the bay.

430

:

Gave us four acres on a 40

year auto-renewing lease

431

:

that will allow us to build

432

:

we're gonna build into stages,

but eventually it's gonna be an

433

:

8,500 square foot training facility

with enough kennels for 20 dogs.

434

:

We're gonna have 10 tiny homes with

their individual fencing and everything.

435

:

So when the veterans, we can all bring

them to us now, instead of going all

436

:

over the place to them, we'll have enough

room for them to bring their families.

437

:

That's gonna be behind the highest

fence and they're gonna be with

438

:

people, like-minded people.

439

:

So they had that sense of community that

they had when they were still serving.

440

:

We're gonna do some RV hookups down there

too, for those guys that are like me now.

441

:

I sold everything I have and

living the capital life, going back

442

:

and forth all over the country.

443

:

We'll have RV hookups for them and

everything, and it's gonna become a

444

:

center that we are gonna have classrooms,

we're gonna have conference rooms.

445

:

We've gonna be working with

the local hospital there to

446

:

provide psychiatric services and

things while they're down there.

447

:

Eventually we're gonna work to do

a full medical hookup with, then

448

:

we're gonna working with the PFW

and American Legion down there in

449

:

the area to, and the local hospital.

450

:

We're gonna try to get them some medical

care while they're down there as well.

451

:

So we're really hoping to turn

that into just a beautiful facility

452

:

that really takes care of our

veterans and first responders.

453

:

Dixie: What is the timeframe

on something like that?

454

:

Chris: It depends on donations

and state appropriations.

455

:

We've got, basically, we've got a year

and a half to start breaking down with

456

:

our ground with our first building.

457

:

We is actually in the clearing process

now we're gonna have the utilities

458

:

we'll be pulling and everything.

459

:

I really hope to have it.

460

:

70% built by June of 27.

461

:

We've already gotten some pretty

huge donations for people wanting,

462

:

everybody wants to leave a legacy.

463

:

And we've got a benefactor that

has just been incredible to us.

464

:

Vans, merchandise trailers,

golf carts, kennels.

465

:

They've just been incredible

through the years.

466

:

All in the name of their brother that

was a Navy guy for years served in

467

:

the Mediterranean during World War ii.

468

:

We are gonna be launching,

it's the entire complex is the

469

:

Homer Allen Veterans Center.

470

:

But we're gonna do the naming rights

to the buildings and to the housing

471

:

area and to the RV area, just so

the people can leave a legacy while

472

:

donating us money to fulfill our dreams.

473

:

Dixie: How do you choose the veterans?

474

:

You said, there's an application

process, but how do you pick

475

:

which ones you're gonna go with?

476

:

Chris: We go through and check

their background check everything,

477

:

make sure they've got no domestic

violence, no animal cruelty, no

478

:

anything like that in their background.

479

:

No violent arrests.

480

:

So after once that's cleared

Tyler actually does most.

481

:

80% of that part of the process.

482

:

So he can probably best tell you about

483

:

Tyler: how that process works.

484

:

. I gauge if I'm going to further the

application process, depending on how much

485

:

information they put into the application.

486

:

If they spend a lot of time in the

application, I know that they're

487

:

gonna actually, be a good fit.

488

:

What service dog gonna do for

you, this, that, and the other.

489

:

And it goes to a family questionnaire

to where I ask the family if this

490

:

is gonna be a good fit for 'em.

491

:

If they just put like a one or two word

something that just to , fill in that

492

:

space and it's very bland and it's not

really a lot of information, then if they

493

:

don't do something to actually show that

they need it, then that's what I look at.

494

:

After I get that application and I go

through it, and then I give 'em a call

495

:

and I talk to 'em for almost two or

three hours just to get their story.

496

:

And I'll ask them something similar

to what, what the application

497

:

says and everything else.

498

:

But I really take that time to get

to know 'em, hear them out, see what

499

:

their issues are and everything else.

500

:

And that can gauges.

501

:

It's okay, maybe they need to go through

some type of mental health situation.

502

:

Or if they're good to go, then I'll

pass it on to Carolyn where she

503

:

actually, finished that process.

504

:

But then we'll have a full meeting

between three of us to gauge, okay,

505

:

does this person need this service dog?

506

:

Or what do we need to

do proceeding from here?

507

:

And so that's just the

beginning of that process.

508

:

And then Carolyn and Travis, our

other trainer, they go through the

509

:

process of, getting everything set

up, moving forward for class updates,

510

:

the dogs and everything else.

511

:

Dixie: How many applications

do you have to turn down?

512

:

Do you get more that you're turning down?

513

:

Tyler: There's a few.

514

:

There's definitely a few of

them that are very questionable.

515

:

'cause I run the background checks

as well and I check everything.

516

:

I go through Facebook, I go

through Instagram because a lot

517

:

of people just post, open source

information out on all their stuff.

518

:

And so I'll go through all that

information just to see who

519

:

they are what they're posting.

520

:

And then I'll go through that background

check for 'em, like checking their

521

:

history on courts, if there's anything,

anything that pops up speeding tickets

522

:

or anything like, it all pops up for

me, so I go through that phase of it.

523

:

And there's a couple people where

I was like we're gonna have to turn

524

:

you away, or there's a different

organization that's that might be

525

:

able to help you further, but , this

isn't a good fit, I don't believe.

526

:

And I've had that conversation a few

times and it's unfortunate, but it saves

527

:

us such huge heartache because there,

there are people out there that say

528

:

they need a service dog or they want a

service dog, but it's just a show piece.

529

:

Chris: Yeah.

530

:

It's an optics thing to them.

531

:

They're more worried about what it

looks like to have a service dog than

532

:

actually getting the help they need.

533

:

Tyler: And so we don't wanna waste those

resources on those type of people either.

534

:

And yeah, that's why I look at the

application and if they put a, one

535

:

sentence response versus a full paragraph

and they need extra pages, I'm really

536

:

gonna focus on that person because they're

truly putting an effort into what they're

537

:

wanting and needing, so there's definitely

a huge process that we go through.

538

:

And I gauge what answers they look at.

539

:

And we actually go through a whole process

of the behavioral side of it as well.

540

:

So we go through, the gauge, how

much PTSD they're going through.

541

:

It's the same thing that VA has.

542

:

Chris: Yeah.

543

:

The Begs Depression Index.

544

:

Tyler: We go through that process and

we give it to 'em, what is it, every

545

:

six months or so, just to kind Yeah.

546

:

Roughly.

547

:

See where they're yeah.

548

:

Just to see where they're at

within that process as well.

549

:

If they're improving or if they're

not, then hey, how can we help?

550

:

Because that's the thing too, there,

there's a lot of organizations

551

:

out there that, Hey, here's a

service dog, here's some training.

552

:

Good luck.

553

:

And then they'll reach

out to 'em through email.

554

:

I get text messages all the time

from guys, Hey, how you doing?

555

:

Or, I have something

going on, or whatever.

556

:

And then I'll give him a call.

557

:

Or I'll just call him up or text him,

558

:

Chris: we've got a guy and he

doesn't mind us talking about it.

559

:

We've got a man named Drew.

560

:

He's in Tallahassee,

Florida, and Drew struggles.

561

:

He's got a great service

dog, but he still struggles.

562

:

And he just checked himself into,

he called we arranged a boarding

563

:

situation so he could put his dog.

564

:

But he said, I just

can't, the dog is helping.

565

:

I'm only thinking about suicide.

566

:

Twice a month now where it was a daily

thing, but I still need some help.

567

:

And that's the other thing, that the

dogs a true service dog will help them

568

:

recognize that they do need further help.

569

:

Because and, he's going through that now.

570

:

He's out in a 30 or 60 day facility out

somewhere in Texas that he found that's

571

:

gonna really help him focus and do his

thing because he's one of those guys

572

:

that, before he came to us, he had tried

to commit suicide but the last time he

573

:

called us, he was thinking about it.

574

:

So technically three times suicide has

crossed his mind in the last four years.

575

:

Yep.

576

:

We like to get everybody all to help

with need, . You are part of our

577

:

family once you come in with us.

578

:

And that's the biggest thing is that

everybody we know the names of everybody

579

:

that's been through the program.

580

:

We are their dogs.

581

:

It's a thing with us that

we want to keep it personal.

582

:

We wanna make it personal.

583

:

We want to give them that sense

of belonging that they're missing

584

:

since they left the, whether it

be military or first responder.

585

:

Dixie: What is the procedure?

586

:

If they called you up and they said

they didn't want the dog anymore,

587

:

would you take the dog back?

588

:

Chris: We have done that with one dog.

589

:

Actually Ashley great little

girl down in South Florida.

590

:

And we have permission to use these names.

591

:

I'm not just throwing names out there.

592

:

They sign a waiver for names and

likenesses and all that kind of stuff

593

:

where we can use and talk about 'em.

594

:

Ashley, she's pretty jacked

up, but she's super active.

595

:

She's very neurotic.

596

:

And the dog that we, gave to her, I might

have been a little neurotic as well.

597

:

They fed off of each other.

598

:

She called me one day and she

goes, can you come get the dog?

599

:

I'm like, absolutely.

600

:

We'll come do it.

601

:

And when you get ready we, we'll get

you a different style of dog to go.

602

:

We were able to rehome that dog

and everything went well, but she.

603

:

Again, it was the dog, right?

604

:

She was just taking meds and

doing things and trying to cope.

605

:

When she got the dog and she had to take

care of the dog and herself, it made her

606

:

realize I'm a little more jacked up than

I thought I was, and now I'm projecting

607

:

onto the dog and messing the dog up.

608

:

So she gave up the dog while she

fixes herself, and then we'll get

609

:

her another dog if she comes in.

610

:

And that dog went to somebody

else and they're thriving.

611

:

When I say dog fix everything,

they really do, even if you're

612

:

as messed up as she was.

613

:

But this woman literally wrote me

a letter, introduced herself, and

614

:

her next sentence was, I know I'm

really effed up and I need some help.

615

:

And I was like, she is gonna get a phone

call immediately after I read the letter.

616

:

She was already pretty self-aware

and we tried to make it work

617

:

and it didn't necessarily work.

618

:

But, I check on her once , every

three or four months, I check in

619

:

with her and see how she's doing.

620

:

And that personal phone

call means a lot to her.

621

:

And we want to keep that, no matter how

big we get, no matter how many dogs we

622

:

put out, we wanna keep that personal touch

because it's important, especially someone

623

:

that's been in the situation she has.

624

:

Because, to me, she's a kid.

625

:

I'm 58 years old, she's 24, 25 years old.

626

:

And I would hate to think what I would

do if that had happened to my kid.

627

:

So that's what all these younger

people just become, more like

628

:

my kids than anything else.

629

:

And I really try to look after

'em and keep them in the loop

630

:

and really look in on 'em.

631

:

Dixie: I would imagine that you

have a lot of success stories.

632

:

Can you share some of those?

633

:

Tyler: Oh, wow.

634

:

Okay.

635

:

Can I bring up Schafer?

636

:

Chris: I was just gonna tell, I

said I have a very tragic success

637

:

story, if that makes sense.

638

:

Tyler: Okay.

639

:

So can I talk about

Schaefer on this one then?

640

:

Chris: Yeah that's the one I

was gonna tell yeah, absolutely.

641

:

You go ahead.

642

:

Tyler: All right.

643

:

So Schaefer really good buddy of

mine actually became best friends.

644

:

He actually recruited me in the

Marine Corps, and and that's how

645

:

I met him and I hit the fleet.

646

:

We stayed in touch.

647

:

I got outta the Marine Corps.

648

:

He started working for me over in Oke.

649

:

When when the hurricane hit and we

were ba we were literally rebuilding

650

:

the island for the people there.

651

:

And, about a year later,

he reached back out to me.

652

:

This is when I really started

getting into forgotten was K9.

653

:

But I didn't have that

experience of actually delivering

654

:

a dog yet at this point.

655

:

And so he reached out to me and

said, Hey I was diagnosed with with

656

:

cancer and I'm gonna get in touch

with my oncologist and everything.

657

:

I want to go through the program.

658

:

And this happened.

659

:

He notified me in shoot, when was it?

660

:

August, I think.

661

:

Yeah, it was in June.

662

:

It was in June when he notified me.

663

:

And and so right after he called

me, I called up Chris and said, Hey,

664

:

you know this is what's going on.

665

:

I don't know if he's gonna be

able to go through the program.

666

:

He's contacting his oncologist.

667

:

He doesn't, they don't know what kind

of type of cancer it is just yet.

668

:

Is there anything that we

can do to help him out?

669

:

We got off the phone and then you

called me back like maybe 30 minutes

670

:

later saying that we have a dog . Chris

trained this dog up and everything else.

671

:

Come September I picked the dog up.

672

:

And then I drove to North Carolina

and I got there, I think at

673

:

five o'clock in the morning.

674

:

Drove there out the whole

675

:

night and I.

676

:

We ended up giving him Juney or

Junebug is what they call her.

677

:

And so at that time when I got there,

Greg was literally in his death recliner.

678

:

He hadn't moved for two weeks.

679

:

Jaundice was kicking in.

680

:

He had stage four colon cancer, and it was

moving rapidly fast, and it was spreading.

681

:

It got, at that point

it went to his lungs and

682

:

Chris: Lungs and liver

683

:

Tyler: and yeah, lungs and liver.

684

:

And , the jaundice was really bad.

685

:

Like he was bright yellow.

686

:

And and so I got there, I crashed

out on the couch, but I remember the

687

:

moment, that Junie, I came inside first.

688

:

I said, Hey I got Junie in the truck.

689

:

I'm gonna go get her.

690

:

I just wanna see how you guys interact.

691

:

And so I walked her in.

692

:

She looked right up at Craig

and then crawled right into his

693

:

lap and and just laid there.

694

:

And I had some tears in my eyes

and everything, and it was like

695

:

a true awakening because that was

the first time I ever saw somebody

696

:

receive a service dog and see that

connection like right out the gate.

697

:

And it was extremely powerful.

698

:

I crashed out for maybe two, three

hours and I woke to Craig actually

699

:

up out of his recliner, moving around

and doing things around the house.

700

:

Chris: At this point, keep in mind that

Craig only had about three weeks left.

701

:

Of the six weeks the doctor had

given him, he was resigned to die.

702

:

Yeah.

703

:

Two or three weeks before he

was in his mind he was dead.

704

:

Tyler: Yeah.

705

:

And and so I wake up

and he's Hey, you okay?

706

:

He's yeah, can you take me to PetSmart?

707

:

I'm like, yeah, dude.

708

:

Let me go , brush my teeth.

709

:

Gotta pile myself up before he head out.

710

:

So

711

:

Chris: this dude hadn't gotten out

of his recliner except to take care

712

:

of bodily function for two weeks,

no shower, no shave, no nothing.

713

:

By the time he woke Tyler up, that dude

was showered, dressed, and ready to roll.

714

:

Tyler: He was, he really was.

715

:

And he was right about ready to just

leave and go to the store by himself.

716

:

And so I took him to the store.

717

:

He's out walking around and everything.

718

:

We were out for about, I wanna

say about three or four hours

719

:

he started getting appetite.

720

:

He asked if we could go

get something to eat.

721

:

Like he was like a whole different person.

722

:

And at that point, he just

seemed like a changed man.

723

:

And then a couple months later he ended

up being, best man , in my wedding.

724

:

He he did all this stuff and he went from.

725

:

Two weeks to what, nine months?

726

:

Like living?

727

:

Living His bucket list.

728

:

Yeah,

729

:

Chris: bucket list.

730

:

He got well enough to participate in

one last paintball game, which was his

731

:

passion after he got outta the military.

732

:

But he actually got well enough with

Judy that he drove all the way down

733

:

here to Florida, participated in that,

stayed of my house for three or four days

734

:

afterwards, recovering because he was worn

out and before going back home I get chill

735

:

bumps just thinking about that story.

736

:

, Phil: So he was three weeks

from end of life, right?

737

:

Sure did.

738

:

And then he got another nine

months with his service dog.

739

:

Yeah.

740

:

That's amazing.

741

:

That's amazing.

742

:

Yep.

743

:

Chris: Because he had to take

care of his battle buddy.

744

:

He said, I gotta get up and go

get her stuff to take care of her.

745

:

I can't let her down.

746

:

It gave him a purpose.

747

:

That a lot of these guys are

lacking when they come home.

748

:

So these dogs give them that purpose.

749

:

They have to keep up with the training.

750

:

They have to take care of the dog.

751

:

They can't let that dog down.

752

:

That's their battle buddy.

753

:

And so it just gives them

so much more purpose.

754

:

That it's just, you can see it in

their eyes, you can see the change.

755

:

It's amazing.

756

:

I wish that everybody could experience

one of our handoffs firsthand.

757

:

I just I do.

758

:

Because our pictures that we take

don't capture it quite well enough.

759

:

But if you can be there for

that just one time that you get

760

:

the opportunity, fricking go.

761

:

Dixie: What happened to Junie,

762

:

Chris: Junie when Craig

passed, we go ahead.

763

:

Danielle, his fiance.

764

:

Tyler: Yeah.

765

:

So I was there up to the very end.

766

:

Daniel was there as well, his

fiance and Junebug was with us

767

:

in the hospital and everything.

768

:

And she looks over at me and

asks, that very question.

769

:

I said I would like to

keep her in the family and.

770

:

Danielle just started crying and

thanked me and everything else.

771

:

But that's the thing we wanna make

sure that something like that happens.

772

:

We're not gonna just rehome the

dog into somewhere else or whatnot.

773

:

And, if the dog's already accumulated

that family, we're gonna try to keep that

774

:

dog there with the family no matter what.

775

:

, So having Junebug there almost felt like

it was Craig helping in a way, so , like

776

:

I said, we wanna make sure that these

families are taken care of no matter what.

777

:

Even if something as tragic as that

happening we're always there for

778

:

these guys, even their families

as well, because, like Chris

779

:

said earlier, it's a huge family.

780

:

But, that's the thing that really sets

us apart too, with this whole bit is.

781

:

We're always gonna be there for

everybody that we come across.

782

:

Even the guys that, just randomly call us.

783

:

I'll tell guys all the time,

tell I even told you this, man.

784

:

You know that if you need

somebody, just yell at, call me

785

:

at three o'clock in the morning.

786

:

I don't care.

787

:

It's, Hey, I need to

vent and just let loose.

788

:

Super, I don't care.

789

:

Chris: Super, super success story.

790

:

Tyler and I both have

insomnia of things, right?

791

:

So one Saturday morning and if you

email one of the accounts that we've

792

:

got no, on the website, we both get it.

793

:

So I happened to be up early because

I couldn't really sleep well.

794

:

Tyler was still up and it was

God, probably six or seven

795

:

o'clock on a Saturday morning.

796

:

Andy texted us having severe issues

with his muscle stuff and everything

797

:

related to his service and.

798

:

And all that stuff.

799

:

And he was suicidal that morning

and he takes us we both start

800

:

answering him at the same time.

801

:

He broke down just everything about it.

802

:

He's told us more than once, if

we had not answered his email that

803

:

morning, that we'd have never met him.

804

:

And that's the kinda guys that

we get sometime and that's how

805

:

we are when our phones ring.

806

:

Or that email goes off.

807

:

We are on it as quickly as we can be.

808

:

There are some family stuff that overrides

how quickly we can respond, but for the

809

:

most part, we're picking up the phone

810

:

and it's made such a huge

difference in his guy's life.

811

:

Andy has gone from pain so bad from

his muscle issues and everything

812

:

to where they have even backed

off of some of his medications.

813

:

And he's getting out more and

more every day because of his

814

:

dog and his bond with his dog.

815

:

And it's just there's story after

story like that we've got oh geez

816

:

oh, the dude in Virginia, but took us

over a year to get him to fill out the

817

:

paperwork from his first contact with us.

818

:

And he was work and home

and horrible work life.

819

:

Supervisors not understanding what he was

going through not getting to see his kids

820

:

very often and all that kind of stuff

it's just incredible what he is doing now.

821

:

He's got a new job.

822

:

He's looking up, he's got more

visitation with his kids and

823

:

everything because of the dog.

824

:

And this was a dude that, it

took us a year to get him to

825

:

fill out the dad gum paperwork.

826

:

Tyler: We also got SMO as well.

827

:

Chris: Yeah.

828

:

Tyler: DJ Smo.

829

:

Yeah, DJ Smo.

830

:

This guy, he suffers from

seizures grand mal seizures.

831

:

And it happened.

832

:

It just happened.

833

:

Chris: Hospital hospitalization,

life threatening seizures.

834

:

Tyler: Yeah.

835

:

It's at least two weeks in the

hospital if something happens.

836

:

Chris: He's a part of the combat

Veterans Motorcycle Association.

837

:

. If you ever have a chance to meet

any of these guys, probably one

838

:

of the most amazing motorcycle

associations on the planet.

839

:

They are.

840

:

Freaking incredible.

841

:

We met one of the members of

them at a fundraiser we were

842

:

doing in Clarksville, Tennessee.

843

:

I was coming home from one of our

country music fundraisers in Missouri

844

:

on a Sunday, and they had been trying

and trying to get responses and stuff.

845

:

She called me Sunday on the drive.

846

:

I made three more phone calls.

847

:

Their motorcycle association

raised $5,600 in four days

848

:

to get us to get him expedited

through, get everything done,,

849

:

and get him in the program.

850

:

That was in May.

851

:

I think we delivered his dog in September.

852

:

Tyler: Yep.

853

:

Chris: September, October

we delivered his dog.

854

:

And nine, nine days after we left

the dog alerted on a seizure.

855

:

As this before was happening

and they're now up to, 15 or

856

:

20 minutes before the seizure.

857

:

The dog is alerting now.

858

:

Wow.

859

:

Yep.

860

:

, I can be talking to you till

midnight about the upside of this.

861

:

I've had some incredible

jobs over the years.

862

:

Made a lot of stuff, but there's no

job I have ever had that compares to

863

:

the satisfaction from doing what we do.

864

:

It is the best feeling on the planet.

865

:

But, everything we do

is grassroots donations.

866

:

We do chili cook-offs,

country music, concerts.

867

:

You can sign up on our website

and give $25 a month and,

868

:

and that kind of thing you.

869

:

But it's it's all been grassroots so far.

870

:

We've had a huge, big corporate donors,

you gotta go hunt those every year.

871

:

And , they don't necessarily wanna

give to the same people every year.

872

:

So you're hunting those and working

those and the money side of this

873

:

is probably the hardest part.

874

:

The easy part is the people of the dogs.

875

:

The hard part is the funding.

876

:

Dixie: Yeah.

877

:

That seems to be where

most 5 0 1 C3 struggle too.

878

:

Chris: Yeah.

879

:

I'm hoping that with the facility where

people can see a physical manifestation

880

:

of the money they gave, one lady gave

us, I think the very first fundraiser

881

:

I did, she wrote me a check for $8,000.

882

:

Honor of her dad that was on the

Indianapolis or whatever in World War

883

:

ii, I can't remember exactly, I'll

have to look it up in my files, but

884

:

but she gave us that money in honor of

her dad that served in World War ii.

885

:

So there's a lot of that,

that happens as well.

886

:

Dixie: There's a rescue that we follow,

and , they just built a facility, and what

887

:

they did was they put bricks outside and

they let people buy, purchase a brick,

888

:

and then put an inscription on the brick.

889

:

So have you thought about

doing something like that?

890

:

Yeah, actually,

891

:

Chris: We're looking on that,

like I said, the people of Gulf

892

:

County with the veterans Memorial

party they did down there.

893

:

They did a lot of that funding through

the bricks, and I'm working with the

894

:

guy that organized all of that, the

guy that organized all of that and

895

:

owns a bunch of stuff down there.

896

:

He's great.

897

:

They're just a cool old man.

898

:

I've known him my whole life.

899

:

He went to high school with my dad, and

so I've had several meetings with him

900

:

about funding a project like that, and one

of his first suggestions was the bricks.

901

:

Dixie: I do have another question.

902

:

Since the Veteran's Life is, depending on

the dog being constantly vigilant and well

903

:

cared for, would you say that these dogs

in turn receive a more focused high level

904

:

of care and purpose than an average pet?

905

:

Chris: I would like to think so.

906

:

We try to teach them to

really step up their care.

907

:

A lot of people especially

like my age, I'm 58 years old.

908

:

Pets were pets when we were kids.

909

:

They stayed out in the yard,

they rarely came in the house.

910

:

It was a different kind

of animal back then.

911

:

But I think with these younger,

and I call Tyler a kid, these

912

:

younger kids, Tyler's 36 now, right?

913

:

Tyler, and to me he's a kid.

914

:

But I think that their focus

has changed from what ours were.

915

:

And I think that they don't see the

dog necessarily, like I call it a tool

916

:

a lot because I'm trying to get people

to understand that they need to upkeep,

917

:

they need to do the different things.

918

:

But they see as more than just a tool.

919

:

They see it as a member of their family.

920

:

And so they really take good care of them.

921

:

Mary a marine wife we were

gonna give, her husband was

922

:

gonna come through the program.

923

:

We were at a church music

thing , in Missouri.

924

:

He wasn't feeling well that Saturday

night, and so we skipped it.

925

:

So we gave Mary the certificate for

him to come through the program.

926

:

Once he was feeling better.

927

:

That was a Saturday night.

928

:

He got his result back from the

doctor on Thursday, stage four.

929

:

Pancreatic cancer was dead 51 days later.

930

:

Never got to come through the program.

931

:

Wow.

932

:

I had a dog that I had literally

bottle fed from two weeks old.

933

:

Sophie was my dog.

934

:

She went with me everywhere.

935

:

I had her for three and a half years.

936

:

Was a really great nightmare dog.

937

:

Something about her and her abilities.

938

:

She would wake me up before I would get

too deep into a nightmare every time.

939

:

So when Mary was having trouble

sleeping, she was having trouble

940

:

doing me all of these things.

941

:

So we talked about it.

942

:

I thought about it, prayed about

it a lot because Sophie meant

943

:

so much to me, but ultimately

decided to put Sophie with Mary.

944

:

The very first night she was with Mary.

945

:

Mary called me the next day and

said, Hey, let's go grab breakfast

946

:

when I ask you a few things.

947

:

But what had happened was, Mary said

that about two 30 or three o'clock

948

:

in the morning, Sophie went nuts on.

949

:

Started doing Zoomies in the hotel

room, jumping on the bed, playing

950

:

with her, shaking at her, trying

to get her to come play with her.

951

:

And she goes so I got up and played

with her, and then she went back to

952

:

bed and I told her, I said, back up

and remember what we talked about.

953

:

I said, when do you have your deepest,

most vivid dreams of Brian and the loss

954

:

that you've suffered and everything else?

955

:

She said right around two o'clock.

956

:

Oh my gosh.

957

:

I said, yep.

958

:

She could sense that she woke you up.

959

:

Y'all played for a half an

hour in that hotel room.

960

:

You completely forgot about it, and

both of y'all went back to sleep.

961

:

Dixie: Wow.

962

:

That's incredible.

963

:

I

964

:

Chris: said yeah, and so now her and

Sophie, she's a brand ambassador for

965

:

lack of a better term for us in Missouri.

966

:

Sophie has changed Mary's life a

thousand percent for the better.

967

:

Dixie: What kind of training did

you need to do to become a trainer?

968

:

And then also, you mentioned that you have

the dogs for the PTSD, for the seizures.

969

:

What other functions do the dogs

have, or what do you train them for?

970

:

Chris: We pretty much worked with

them through a variety of whatever

971

:

that specific personage of anxiety.

972

:

We teach the pressure therapy for the dog.

973

:

It's basically like a

breathing weighted blanket.

974

:

I have a problem talking.

975

:

I can tell how nervous I am, but when

I'm up on stage, when I first get

976

:

started talking, everybody's a little

antsy when they first get up there.

977

:

And so my dogs are taught to lean into

me, to let me know they're there so I

978

:

can reach out and scratch 'em, pet 'em

while I'm talking, and then as I relax,

979

:

they move outta the way and go to sleep.

980

:

So there's that anxiety.

981

:

There's high blood pressure,

low blood pressure, high

982

:

blood sugar, low blood sugar.

983

:

They're trained.

984

:

They can be trained in almost anything.

985

:

The only thing we won't personally

trained them in is as a seeing eye dog.

986

:

I have trained a bunch of dogs in my

lifetime, and that is out of my depth.

987

:

I'll be the first one to admit

that I am not that trainer.

988

:

But I got into training.

989

:

I was a K9 handler for a sheriff's

office in Florida, and really started

990

:

to get fascinated by the training

aspect of it worked up to where I wound

991

:

up being the K nine unit supervisor.

992

:

Basically, by default, it

wasn't because of my experience.

993

:

And really started looking

at all the aspects of it.

994

:

Went through a couple different

training schools and started doing it.

995

:

And once I started learning that training,

I started learning other training.

996

:

I've been through three or four different

training scenarios, plus all the police

997

:

training that I did and everything.

998

:

And I combine all of those in

my personal style of training.

999

:

There's a training company that

does a lot of a native reinforcement

:

00:52:32,847 --> 00:52:39,567

and positive rewards, and we

use their style of training.

:

00:52:39,567 --> 00:52:44,397

A lot of our trainers have been through

their programs, and so we really use that

:

00:52:44,397 --> 00:52:48,497

because , the dogs just pick up on the

training so quickly using that style.

:

00:52:49,922 --> 00:52:51,042

And that's what we do.

:

00:52:51,102 --> 00:52:55,122

I don't train as much as I

used to just because I'm out

:

00:52:55,602 --> 00:52:57,822

fundraising 90% of the time now.

:

00:52:58,002 --> 00:53:01,362

I don't get as involved as I

used to with it, and I miss that.

:

00:53:01,362 --> 00:53:06,102

But my role has evolved from when we

started to, to where we're at now.

:

00:53:07,572 --> 00:53:08,802

Dixie: And what about you, Tyler?

:

00:53:08,802 --> 00:53:11,592

What kind of training did

you do specifically for this?

:

00:53:11,592 --> 00:53:15,502

And then how did you, get involved

with working with animals?

:

00:53:18,292 --> 00:53:21,297

Chris: Me and Tyler met

accidentally over a webpage.

:

00:53:22,107 --> 00:53:22,467

Tyler: Yeah.

:

00:53:22,737 --> 00:53:26,827

And it was from Phil and I were

working together on a contract down in

:

00:53:26,827 --> 00:53:29,337

Louisiana and David was actually there.

:

00:53:29,877 --> 00:53:33,927

What I like to do is I learn all I

can about the guys that work under me.

:

00:53:34,467 --> 00:53:38,297

And and so I was sitting there

talking with David and he was

:

00:53:38,297 --> 00:53:39,797

talking to me about the service dogs.

:

00:53:39,797 --> 00:53:42,947

I've always wanted to get into the

service dog industry just because I

:

00:53:42,947 --> 00:53:44,297

want to be able to help people out.

:

00:53:44,357 --> 00:53:46,512

And I've always had a dream to do that.

:

00:53:46,512 --> 00:53:51,732

And, talking with David, I found my

way in and he happened to be only

:

00:53:51,732 --> 00:53:55,802

two, maybe three hours from my house

back when I was living in Alabama.

:

00:53:56,492 --> 00:53:59,237

And I reached, told him

to reach out to Chris.

:

00:53:59,237 --> 00:54:00,587

I'd like to get an introduction.

:

00:54:00,587 --> 00:54:03,917

We met, that's where Chris and I

met was over at Davis house when

:

00:54:03,917 --> 00:54:05,357

we got done with that contract,

:

00:54:05,927 --> 00:54:08,297

Chris: pretty sure we met

over filets and cigars.

:

00:54:09,057 --> 00:54:11,692

, Tyler: One thing led to another and

then boom, here I am, I picked up

:

00:54:11,692 --> 00:54:13,852

the it stuff right out the gate.

:

00:54:13,937 --> 00:54:15,627

I designed the website for us.

:

00:54:16,237 --> 00:54:19,477

Really started getting into,

honing into that whole segment, and

:

00:54:19,477 --> 00:54:21,157

then it just erupted from there.

:

00:54:21,607 --> 00:54:24,132

And so now I can't say no to people.

:

00:54:25,122 --> 00:54:26,502

I have that problem saying no.

:

00:54:26,502 --> 00:54:30,702

It goes into everything that, that Chris

has talked about now, but from what I do.

:

00:54:30,702 --> 00:54:33,762

That's basically how I got affiliated

with this whole thing is all because of

:

00:54:33,762 --> 00:54:37,792

David, so I definitely have to give 'em

some, a little bit of credit for that.

:

00:54:37,842 --> 00:54:39,512

I went through their whole training thing.

:

00:54:39,672 --> 00:54:40,992

Actually trained my service.

:

00:54:41,827 --> 00:54:44,122

On everything through what

I'd learned from them.

:

00:54:44,662 --> 00:54:46,722

And then, it evolved from there.

:

00:54:46,812 --> 00:54:50,172

And so I started getting into

this whole other side of things

:

00:54:50,172 --> 00:54:51,572

and just a better program.

:

00:54:52,112 --> 00:54:56,242

And so somebody will call me

up, Hey, what do I do with this

:

00:54:56,242 --> 00:54:57,472

situation and everything else?

:

00:54:57,472 --> 00:54:59,002

I'll give 'em some

guidance and everything.

:

00:54:59,002 --> 00:55:01,762

And then they gimme some feedback

whether it worked or not.

:

00:55:01,767 --> 00:55:03,202

And then I kind of work

with them from there.

:

00:55:03,202 --> 00:55:04,492

If it works, great.

:

00:55:04,492 --> 00:55:06,682

If not, then we try something different.

:

00:55:06,682 --> 00:55:09,782

We always have to, we're always

there to figure something, figure

:

00:55:09,782 --> 00:55:11,252

out these problems with these guys.

:

00:55:11,252 --> 00:55:13,022

And if I can't figure

it out, I'll call Chris.

:

00:55:13,092 --> 00:55:15,032

Hey man what do I do in this situation?

:

00:55:15,692 --> 00:55:18,742

Chris: And that's also kind of the

beauty of the fact that we give them

:

00:55:18,742 --> 00:55:22,612

so much background in their actual

training and their hands-on training and

:

00:55:22,612 --> 00:55:26,542

their practical training and online and

everything is that if they're hanging out

:

00:55:26,542 --> 00:55:31,012

at the VFW or American Leisure or wherever

they hang out and there's another veteran

:

00:55:31,012 --> 00:55:32,332

that's having an issue with the dog.

:

00:55:33,877 --> 00:55:37,297

By the time they get through our

program, have enough knowledge to

:

00:55:37,297 --> 00:55:40,507

help another veteran work through

his problem with his service dog.

:

00:55:41,077 --> 00:55:46,457

So it's really just a beautiful give back,

get, give what you get kind of thing.

:

00:55:47,567 --> 00:55:47,717

Dixie: Yeah.

:

00:55:47,717 --> 00:55:52,647

It's a very unique system that they

have the dogs and they're involved

:

00:55:52,647 --> 00:55:54,177

in training the dogs from the start.

:

00:55:54,177 --> 00:55:55,527

I think that's pretty interesting.

:

00:55:56,324 --> 00:56:00,344

Chris: Yeah, we didn't know how well

it was gonna work, but we knew that

:

00:56:01,454 --> 00:56:05,914

a lot of the programs weren't working

as well as we thought they could be.

:

00:56:07,564 --> 00:56:08,704

And it's one of those things.

:

00:56:08,754 --> 00:56:12,169

We actually developed this stuff

through a kid named Cody Dolman.

:

00:56:12,739 --> 00:56:17,709

Cody lives out in Kansas, and Cody was

riding along in Afghanistan one day.

:

00:56:18,159 --> 00:56:18,909

Driving along.

:

00:56:18,969 --> 00:56:21,489

Woke up seven days later with

all of his buddies dead, and

:

00:56:21,489 --> 00:56:22,509

he was the only survivor.

:

00:56:23,949 --> 00:56:27,579

They hit an IED and done well.

:

00:56:27,579 --> 00:56:30,639

So survivor guilt, he tried to

kill himself and it didn't work.

:

00:56:30,639 --> 00:56:34,509

And then later on he tried to kill

himself again and it didn't work.

:

00:56:34,509 --> 00:56:40,484

And he literally just found us through

another company because he was looking

:

00:56:40,484 --> 00:56:42,654

for ways to make his attempt permanent.

:

00:56:44,694 --> 00:56:49,394

And wound up looking at dogs, looking

at a couple of companies, ran across us.

:

00:56:50,264 --> 00:56:54,664

And Cody's a success story that helped

us actually develop this program.

:

00:56:55,894 --> 00:56:58,384

And the timelines and

everything for what it does.

:

00:56:58,384 --> 00:57:00,024

And Cody's an amazing guy.

:

00:57:00,024 --> 00:57:01,554

Him and his girlfriend were separating.

:

00:57:02,059 --> 00:57:04,399

I haven't spoken to him in

probably five or six months,

:

00:57:04,399 --> 00:57:05,599

which means he's doing great.

:

00:57:05,659 --> 00:57:07,429

Cody doesn't reach out

unless there's an issue.

:

00:57:08,069 --> 00:57:08,939

They're doing great.

:

00:57:08,939 --> 00:57:10,169

Their marriage survived.

:

00:57:10,649 --> 00:57:16,214

He's got a thriving, , he built up his dog

training service to a point that he was

:

00:57:16,214 --> 00:57:19,334

able to sell it for a boatload of money.

:

00:57:20,144 --> 00:57:23,564

And he is just kinda living life

now and everything's happy and he's

:

00:57:23,624 --> 00:57:25,394

got his dogs and his wife is good.

:

00:57:27,794 --> 00:57:31,274

So it's, it just shows you what

kind of turnaround you can have

:

00:57:31,844 --> 00:57:33,314

when you're giving the right tools.

:

00:57:34,334 --> 00:57:39,434

Phil: Tyler, tell us about a

dog you rescued in California in

:

00:57:39,434 --> 00:57:42,254

:

:

00:57:45,524 --> 00:57:46,124

Chris: Oh, boy.

:

00:57:46,129 --> 00:57:47,959

I feel like more to this.

:

00:57:49,699 --> 00:57:50,479

Tyler: Yeah.

:

00:57:50,529 --> 00:57:52,239

That was an interesting situation there.

:

00:57:53,649 --> 00:57:53,949

Oh boy.

:

00:57:53,999 --> 00:57:58,359

Yeah you, Phil and I, this is where

I met Phil was on this contract and

:

00:57:58,359 --> 00:58:02,709

this is at the Paradise Fires just,

there was just, this is why I'm not

:

00:58:02,709 --> 00:58:06,659

gonna say a name, but there's certain

organizations that I'll never donate to.

:

00:58:06,659 --> 00:58:11,309

And this is one of the reasons why this

location had a lot of people that were

:

00:58:11,309 --> 00:58:16,139

selling drugs just doing all sorts of

things that, you're going to see out in

:

00:58:16,139 --> 00:58:20,189

like the normal world, out in a big city,

but they just flocked this location.

:

00:58:20,849 --> 00:58:26,234

So I noticed that this dog was lethargic

and I walked up to 'em 'cause they were

:

00:58:26,234 --> 00:58:30,584

going through a bunch of stuff that

was donated and they weren't supposed

:

00:58:30,584 --> 00:58:32,024

to go be going through this stuff.

:

00:58:32,624 --> 00:58:35,264

And, I noticed it was a little pit bull.

:

00:58:35,804 --> 00:58:39,034

Little boxer mix with the pit

bull and whatnot, little puppy.

:

00:58:39,634 --> 00:58:40,364

And I grew up with these

:

00:58:40,434 --> 00:58:43,209

And I know that they're

not lethargic by any means.

:

00:58:43,689 --> 00:58:44,769

And I kept an eye on him.

:

00:58:45,219 --> 00:58:48,419

And a couple days later we get

a call on the radio from one of

:

00:58:48,419 --> 00:58:49,649

our guys in the main building.

:

00:58:49,649 --> 00:58:53,039

It was like, Hey there's a dog in

here, a puppy that's unresponsive.

:

00:58:53,579 --> 00:58:56,039

We need to we need to figure out

what's going on with this thing.

:

00:58:56,519 --> 00:59:00,719

And next thing is just me taking a beat,

like basically running to the front

:

00:59:00,719 --> 00:59:02,939

entrance of the facility, ran inside.

:

00:59:03,429 --> 00:59:04,749

I didn't even say anything to anybody.

:

00:59:04,749 --> 00:59:08,799

I just walked up to the person with the

dog, took the dog out and walked out.

:

00:59:09,459 --> 00:59:11,259

And didn't say anything after that.

:

00:59:11,529 --> 00:59:13,714

And next thing I hear

on the radio, this is my

:

00:59:13,714 --> 00:59:14,714

Chris: choice and I'm leaving now.

:

00:59:15,544 --> 00:59:16,474

Tyler: Exactly, man.

:

00:59:16,574 --> 00:59:21,234

And and so when I'm on the way to the

humane Society amazing organization

:

00:59:21,294 --> 00:59:22,784

they they had a tent there.

:

00:59:23,864 --> 00:59:27,104

And , as I was walking this little

puppy up, the dog started coming

:

00:59:27,104 --> 00:59:30,594

back her life and it was just

like biting at my beard, trying to

:

00:59:30,594 --> 00:59:31,794

play with me and everything else.

:

00:59:32,839 --> 00:59:34,129

I can't give this dog back.

:

00:59:34,309 --> 00:59:37,609

There's no flipping away that I'm

gonna be able to give this dog back.

:

00:59:37,609 --> 00:59:40,339

So I made the decision that

I'm gonna adopt this puppy.

:

00:59:41,059 --> 00:59:43,789

And so I get there, I sign all

the paperwork and everything else.

:

00:59:43,789 --> 00:59:46,764

I explained the situation that,

there's a couple crack heads that that

:

00:59:46,764 --> 00:59:50,064

had this dog and , I'm pretty sure

they're feeding it drugs to get 'em

:

00:59:50,064 --> 00:59:53,429

to calm down, saying it's a service

dog and this, that, and the other.

:

00:59:53,429 --> 00:59:56,119

And we need to say that something

happened to this dog so they

:

00:59:56,119 --> 00:59:57,259

never get this dog again.

:

00:59:57,949 --> 00:59:59,239

And so they cover for me.

:

00:59:59,389 --> 01:00:01,939

And and couple days later, , I

was like, I don't know what

:

01:00:01,939 --> 01:00:02,869

I'm gonna do with this dog.

:

01:00:02,869 --> 01:00:04,439

'cause I don't have the room for him.

:

01:00:04,489 --> 01:00:07,319

And with me traveling all the

time, it just wasn't gonna work.

:

01:00:07,319 --> 01:00:10,369

And so I, I reached out, I talked to

one of the guys happened to be Wayne,

:

01:00:10,399 --> 01:00:12,079

a good, really good friend of mine.

:

01:00:12,619 --> 01:00:15,249

And, talking with him and he

is I've always wanted a dog.

:

01:00:15,399 --> 01:00:18,189

I was like come meet the pup and see

how you guys, interact and everything.

:

01:00:18,189 --> 01:00:20,469

And he, as soon as he saw

the puppy he fell in love..

:

01:00:20,959 --> 01:00:21,259

Yep.

:

01:00:21,799 --> 01:00:27,359

And fast forward to now, I called him Han

and but his name and Wayne had to make,

:

01:00:27,569 --> 01:00:29,519

Chris: of course you

did use Star Wars nerd.

:

01:00:30,089 --> 01:00:30,479

Tyler: Yeah.

:

01:00:30,599 --> 01:00:31,049

Whatever.

:

01:00:32,109 --> 01:00:35,859

He changed his name to Khan because it

sounds more masculine and everything else.

:

01:00:35,919 --> 01:00:35,979

Yeah.

:

01:00:36,969 --> 01:00:42,119

And and so Kahn is just living the best

life right now getting spoiled, cuddling

:

01:00:42,119 --> 01:00:45,719

with turned Wayne into a big, big old

cuddle bear with him and everything

:

01:00:45,769 --> 01:00:47,539

and he is just living the best life.

:

01:00:48,034 --> 01:00:48,814

He truly is.

:

01:00:48,814 --> 01:00:53,114

And that was probably one of my most

favorite situations where I actually legit

:

01:00:53,114 --> 01:00:53,324

took

:

01:00:53,324 --> 01:00:53,804

a dog.

:

01:00:54,284 --> 01:00:56,604

Phil: But but he's right about that place.

:

01:00:56,604 --> 01:00:57,204

It was.

:

01:00:58,494 --> 01:01:02,784

It started off as a good idea

and it just got really bad,

:

01:01:02,784 --> 01:01:05,994

One side was set up that we called

Tent City, where all the tents and

:

01:01:05,994 --> 01:01:09,684

the RVs were, and the other side

was where all the livestock was.

:

01:01:09,984 --> 01:01:12,924

And we had animals that were

burned, injured, hurt really bad.

:

01:01:13,414 --> 01:01:16,804

We had over right, a million

dollars in donated pet food

:

01:01:16,804 --> 01:01:18,694

that we were keeping an eye on.

:

01:01:19,064 --> 01:01:23,204

People were coming over, taking photos

of the injured animals and then trying

:

01:01:23,204 --> 01:01:28,004

to start like GoFundMe to raise money

for animals that weren't their animals.

:

01:01:29,024 --> 01:01:31,154

Tyler: Just seeing a community

like that come together just

:

01:01:31,154 --> 01:01:32,384

for the animals too, man.

:

01:01:32,384 --> 01:01:33,614

It was truly amazing.

:

01:01:34,044 --> 01:01:36,504

I remember, you going down there

multiple times and helping those

:

01:01:36,504 --> 01:01:39,554

guys out with those animals whenever

we were off shifts, oh, yeah.

:

01:01:39,554 --> 01:01:39,679

Oh yeah.

:

01:01:39,679 --> 01:01:39,759

Yeah.

:

01:01:39,764 --> 01:01:43,034

And especially with the burnt sheep

and the horses, the ponies, or dude,

:

01:01:43,124 --> 01:01:45,494

like I tell you, dude, they knew.

:

01:01:45,704 --> 01:01:47,504

They knew that we were there to help, man.

:

01:01:47,504 --> 01:01:48,864

It was, that was very powerful.

:

01:01:50,644 --> 01:01:55,344

Chris has got some pretty good

stories too, man, with this K9.

:

01:01:55,364 --> 01:01:55,544

We would

:

01:01:55,874 --> 01:01:56,504

Phil: love to hear 'em.

:

01:01:56,504 --> 01:01:59,054

We would love to get y'all on

again, if you wanna come back on and

:

01:01:59,384 --> 01:02:00,594

speak us some further, and stuff.

:

01:02:02,029 --> 01:02:02,269

Chris: Absolutely.

:

01:02:02,269 --> 01:02:02,749

Anytime.

:

01:02:03,624 --> 01:02:03,774

Tyler: Yeah.

:

01:02:03,774 --> 01:02:05,484

This is definitely a

lot of fun for us, man.

:

01:02:05,484 --> 01:02:06,684

We like talking about what we do.

:

01:02:06,684 --> 01:02:08,034

We have a huge passion for this,

:

01:02:08,724 --> 01:02:13,994

. Just the reward of actually seeing

this come to life, is more than enough.

:

01:02:15,824 --> 01:02:21,309

. Chris: You can go to our website,

follow us online and mostly Facebook

:

01:02:21,309 --> 01:02:25,169

and Instagram, but we are on Twitter

and TikTok and that kind of stuff.

:

01:02:25,939 --> 01:02:26,449

. I'm serious.

:

01:02:26,449 --> 01:02:28,879

If we could get everybody that follows us.

:

01:02:28,879 --> 01:02:33,029

I think we've got, not huge little over

a thousand followers, but everybody would

:

01:02:33,029 --> 01:02:35,264

just sign up and get five $5 a month.

:

01:02:36,913 --> 01:02:39,854

It could change the lives

of several veterans a year.

:

01:02:39,904 --> 01:02:40,174

Phil: Yes.

:

01:02:40,564 --> 01:02:44,464

Chris: So we have a recurring thing

where you can sign up and do that.

:

01:02:44,734 --> 01:02:47,494

And it's just it's such

an incredible thing.

:

01:02:47,494 --> 01:02:50,644

And then once we get, obviously once we

start getting everything cleared down

:

01:02:50,644 --> 01:02:53,394

there, we're gonna be posting a lot of

progress pictures online and what it's

:

01:02:53,394 --> 01:02:56,754

doing, the naming process for buildings

and the outbuildings and all of that.

:

01:02:56,754 --> 01:03:01,209

And we we have fundraisers all

over the country if we're gonna

:

01:03:01,209 --> 01:03:05,199

be, if we're in your area, by all

means come out and support us.

:

01:03:05,839 --> 01:03:08,149

We've got a chili kickoff

that has gotten so big.

:

01:03:09,469 --> 01:03:15,038

But last year I think we did over

$10,000 at a one day chili kickoff.

:

01:03:15,369 --> 01:03:15,669

Phil: Wow.

:

01:03:15,669 --> 01:03:16,479

Fantastic.

:

01:03:17,019 --> 01:03:21,009

Chris: So we've got huge support

once people, once we get traction.

:

01:03:21,059 --> 01:03:24,444

We plan on, doing 12 to 15 this year.

:

01:03:24,444 --> 01:03:26,734

We just making it bigger

and bigger every year.

:

01:03:27,604 --> 01:03:30,574

So some of the best people you'll ever

meet come out and hang out with us.

:

01:03:31,264 --> 01:03:31,444

Yep.

:

01:03:32,030 --> 01:03:33,800

Dixie: Thank you guys for joining us.

:

01:03:34,334 --> 01:03:34,544

Tyler: Yeah.

:

01:03:34,544 --> 01:03:35,369

Thank you for having us.

:

01:03:36,029 --> 01:03:38,949

Dixie: That's all the time that

we have for today's episode.

:

01:03:39,009 --> 01:03:40,179

Thank you for listening.

:

01:03:40,229 --> 01:03:43,949

If you are enjoying our show, please

consider leaving us a donation.

:

01:03:44,279 --> 01:03:47,109

A hundred percent goes to our animals.

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About the Podcast

Animal Posse
A look inside the world of animal rescue
Dive deep into the world of animal rescue with heartwarming stories, expert interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights. From heartwarming adoptions to daring rescues, we'll explore the incredible bond between humans and animals.
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About your host

Profile picture for DIXIE LOUVIERE

DIXIE LOUVIERE

My love for animals has driven me to dedicate the last 20 years to rescue. In 2024, we established a 501c3 nonprofit Unwanted Feline Organization Inc. and are thrilled to be building a cat sanctuary in Washington Parish, Louisiana, where we can offer a haven for cats in need. I thought it would be great for the rescue to have a podcast so Animal Posse was started with the hope of bringing rescues together, getting them more exposure, and finding more animals
homes.