November 17, 2025 • 29 mins
Shannon Walker, a professional dog trainer discusses her mission with Northwest Battle Buddies, in pairing Veterans with service dogs who guide them through PSTD and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sug Jessiman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice, your community
Voice presented by iHeartRadio Seattle, and I'm thrilled right now
to be joined by Shannon Walker, who is with Northwest
Battle Buddies as they celebrate their three hundred service dog
for veterans with PTSD. Shannon, I always like to start
this by having you introduce yourself to the audience.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, well, thank you so much first for allowing me
to be on the show. I'm super excited to share
our mission. And my name is Shannon Walker, and I
am the founder and CEO of Northwest Battle Diddies. I've
been a professional dog trainer for thirty years and thirteen
years ago I founded Northwest Battle Diuties and we're busy
training dogs and making difference. And like you just said,
we're training our three hundred dog, paired it with a
(00:42):
veteran and he's going to be graduating in two weeks,
so we're super excited.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And I am a friend to the furry people out
there as I call dogs people because that's that's what
they are to me. And I think a lot of
people in our area would and honestly across the Globe.
I would agree with that. What drew you to become
a dog trainer in the first place.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Oh, you know, that's a great question. Well, I didn't
want I wanted to do animals my whole life. I
wanted to live on a farm, and I wanted horses,
and I wanted to be a veterinarian and I mean
every straight cat, every stray dog, everything. And so I
moved to Tennessee when I was twenty four years old,
and I got a German Shepherd dog and a gentleman
(01:26):
that I ended up marrying was not really the dog
guy that I thought he might be, but regardless, he
was like, get my dog, you know, get the dog trained,
or get rid of him, and getting rid of him
wasn't an option. And I got introduced to through trying
to find a trainer. I got introduced to Jean England,
who won the world championship in schutz in and shutson
(01:46):
is a sport out of Europe, like police dog training. Oh,
and that was my exposure to dog training was that.
And I couldn't believe how a dog and a human
could work so beautifully together, seeing it's like synchronics swimming,
and you know, it was just this incredible, beautiful movement
and I fell in love with it, and so I
(02:06):
started to compete. And I then got married and had twins,
and I wanted to be a stay at home mom,
and in my simple minded thinking, I thought, man, if
I can just you know, train four dogs a month,
I can stay home and you know, start a home
business and take care of my boys at home and
put my values in my children instead of somebody else's.
And that's where it got. My vision was four dogs
(02:28):
a month a long time ago.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
And that doesn't sound simple minded, that sounds mind.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, well it was, and it was, Yeah, it was.
You know, I remember the very first day I actually
had four dogs in for training. That was my goal
and I just thought I was the biggest deal. And uh,
but it was the beginning of a dream. And literally,
you know, thirty years ago, as a professional trainer, I've
(02:57):
trained thousands upon thousands of dogs. I have the honor
of working with police departments. In fact, I just came
out of the cold. Right now, I've got police department
out there training on my property. I just came in
from working with them to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So get it? Yeah, absolutely, but I also, you know,
have the honor of helping people with their pets and
now training dogs for veterans PTSD. And you know, the
dog world is an incredible place to be in. And
I get to do this, and I get to help
so many facets of life, and I get the just
the winds of the transformation that can come through the
(03:35):
relationship of the human and the dog and in the dog,
you know, as you're making the training and so out
of it.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
It's it's a blessing one hundred percent against again.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Shannon Walker joining me Jessman McIntyre here with Seattle Voice
presented by iHeartRadio Seattle, and we're talking about well, I
wanted to know a little bit of your background, but
let's get into Northwest Battle Buddies. As we mentioned, you
are celebrating your three hundredth service dog and this goes
to veterans with PTSD.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
How did that all come about?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So another great question. So my dad served her in
the Korean War, and he taught me to believe in
when you're in the presence of a veteran, you're in
the presence of a hero, even though he never considered
himself one. And he also taught me to believe in
He also taught me to believe in God's family and country.
So when I in running my for profit business that yeah,
(04:26):
I had for almost thirty years, when a veteran came
into that business looking for help, he wanted his dog
to be trained to be a service dog for PTSD
and Northwest Battle Bodies, wasn't even a thought. I just
did what I do. But in that process, because I
trained service dogs before, and I, like I mentioned, I
trained thousands of people helping them with their dogs. But
this experience with Kevin was different. He brought me this
(04:49):
yellow lab, Sammy.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Her name was Sammy, and off the top of your head,
yeah that's.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Great, absolutely absolutely so. But you know, I assessed her.
He was young enough and had timperment enough, and I
trained her. But it was when Kevin came in to
train with me that that's what things, you know, That's
where it changed for me. Because one of the things
is is I learned and I thought I saw Kevin
find the courage inside himself to leave her places he
(05:17):
was afraid to go alone, and I thought I'd be
willing to do for her what he was unwilling to
do for himself. And I also learned about the suicide rate,
and we hear a number of twenty two veterans today
take their life, and it's just the number. But when
Kevin told the story six of his buddies that he
had survived the last firefight with him, he was a
front gunner in the Army, six of his buddies that
(05:38):
had survived that firefight had come home and committed suicide
on American soil. And I just couldn't. I just couldn't
believe it. I just couldn't. My dad always said that
freedom went free, but I didn't know what that truly meant.
But I was realizing, these men and women are still
paying a price for my freedom and are not even
wearing a uniform anymore. And it was when Kevin's training finished,
(05:59):
he did his public access work and we trained on
the tasking. Tasking is where a dog is trained to
mitigate a disability, a symptom of a disability. And when
Kevin was finished, and I watched him walk away and
his head up in his shoulders back, and I was
watching him with Sammy to side walking through the parking
lot leaving, I felt like I truly had made the
(06:19):
difference in the quality of somebody's life. And I've done
a lot of things in the dog world that that
was different. And then I just had you know, if
I can just adopt dogs out of shelters, I can
train them and I can give them and I can
say thank you for my freedom. And to date that
was over three hundred service dogs ago.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Wow. That is amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I am truly thankful for you sharing that because I
think sometimes we see a splash in the news about
you know, it's like a two minute clip on the
news that we'll see and it's cute because you see
a dog and then there's some stats put up, but
you truly live it. And I very much appreciate all
of that. Again, Shannon Walker is joining us from Northwest
(07:00):
Battle Buddies. So this started in twenty twelve, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Correct? Yes?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yes, And so tremendous difference in the lives of veterans,
which obviously you started off with Kevin and Sammy. When
was that And how long into or before that or
after that did you actually found the actual foundation?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Oh no, So Northwest battle Buddies, I went right out.
I mean I have I watched Kevin and then I
was like, you know, well, yeah, I mean I thought,
I have a professional kennel and I have a team.
So I went right out to collect County Dog Services
and I said, check me out, this is what I
want to do. And they checked me out with animal
control and all my life seeing and my reputation, and
(07:43):
they let me walk out with five dogs that day.
I put them in a kennel and then I started,
I'm like, well, I got to be spade and neutered
and everything else. And I just got started. And then
I thought, so I'd already had dogs adopted. And then
I was thinking, well, I need to start a five
H one C three probably so people will help pay
for these dogs, not even knowing what that meant. And
so I found a lawyer, and I mean, I just
(08:06):
found my way and it was clumsy, but it happened
because I just found my way. And then other people
heard about the mission and wanted to come join me.
And I was so humbling to me that people wanted
to help. And it still humbles me today that people joined.
They lock arms with us and help us make a difference.
(08:26):
And but that's I mean, I there was no time wasted.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
It doesn't sound like right out, it doesn't sound like
you waste time.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, no, we did not waste time. We still don't
waste time. It's you know, there's there's there's a lot
of work to be done. There's a lot of deserving
people and and you know, our American heroes need this,
and it feels like we're always, you know, just running
a little bit on empty because we just are very
aggressive about impact and making a difference and if and
(08:57):
we're just extremely determined. I have a very very determined
and passionate, dedicated team and they Northwest Battle Buddies is
phenomenal to work with and for. And I'm they're just
an incredible group of people.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Well I love it Channon Walker joining me Northwest Battle Buddies.
As we just said, And what I really loved to
hear too, is that you are adopting dogs out of
shelters and rehabbing them as well.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
That has to be fulfilling at the same.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Time, and you know it absolutely is, and I will
tell you you know, we still do that. However, through
the thirteen years and three hundred dogs, we have also
learned we also have a purpose Bread program where we
do work with English Cream Golden Retrievers and English Labs.
And the reason is because number one, when you're so Northwest,
(09:40):
battle Bety is one of the largest service dug providers
for veterans in the United States. Wow, Okay, So so
when you're looking at adopting dogs, even though that is
the most it's so honorable because you want to save
a life, to save a life, and we still do that.
In fact, we took in a chocolate lab named Fitzy
roll Shes Chocolate and so she's going to be training
for our March group. So we still do rescues. But
(10:04):
when you're working with veterans that are in the workforce,
and you're working with veterans that are in you know,
all walks of life and children and everything else. And
the thing is is that as much as we train
the dogs, we train our dogs for five months professionally,
and then we train our veterans for five weeks. They
pass their testing and then we and then we provide
the dogs free of charge to them. But if the
(10:25):
training falls at all, which sometimes life can be lifing.
And even though we support our veterans and they are
phenomenal handlers and we recertify every year and we do
all the things that need to be done in best
practices for a service dog organization. You a good trainer
can cover up what questionable genetics are. So and in
(10:48):
the beginning when we're working with dogs out of shelters,
sometimes we can cover up the genetics a little bit.
Not it just you know, good training transforms the dog.
So what we realize is we have to have dogs
that are sound for the work there inherently. You know,
when when you get a bird dog and you wanted
to hunt, you wanted to have a natural ability to
go hunt, right, and then you're going to bring training
(11:10):
about it. We want the same thing for the service
dog or the service dog industry. We want dogs that
if the training falls at all, these dogs are so
genetically sound and genetically geared and inclined for this type
of service that they are still going to serve our
veterans at the highest level and they'll never be a
liability in public or in the family. Yeah, oh go ahead,
(11:32):
well say And sometimes when you're getting dogs out of
shelters and you're not sure about the breed or you're
not sure, I don't think there's any bad dog by
any means, And we have Shepherds, and we have piples,
and we have hard breeds in our program, especially from
the very beginning. But when you're looking at doing a
group of fourteen veterans and you need the dog to
fit the lifestyle, it's harder to put a German Shepherd
(11:55):
dog in an office because the employer may not you know,
you don't want the public might be intimidated by that
German shepherd. Which now we have another barrier for that
veteran who's trying to get on with this life. And
I own shepherd and Roddy's myself. I love the breed,
they're my breeds. But I mean it's it's so we
still do it all. But we also have a breeding
(12:17):
program which offers people the opportunity to fuster our puppies
and make a difference that way and give back.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Oh I love that. Thank you, Thank you so much
for everything that you do. And I completely understand what
you're saying. It's not like you're judging against the dog.
You're trying to find the perfect fit for those who.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
You're track help.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yes, yeah, and it is. It's not a judgment at all.
And I am a fosterer myself. I had my own.
I'm a big dog person too. I had a Dane
Boxer lab mix who was my best friend forever, and
I lost him in twenty twenty and afterwards, I mean
it was during COVID and everything, so I was working
(12:56):
from home and obviously, like shelters became a big part problem.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
And I said, give me the give me the big ones, because.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Not everybody is a big dog person, and so I
had a big boy, and the male big dogs were
less likely to get fostered or adopted, so I took
them in one at a time, and I think fostering
is wonderful. I still cry my eyes out every time
I found an adoptee. But an adopter, I should say,
(13:22):
but you know, you get the chance to make the
right fit. And I love that about the programs that
I've worked with as well. So I just want to
say I appreciate that. And I totally understand what you're
saying about the read having to fit. You know, the
you know, you get a pit bull or a big
German Shepherd as opposed to a lab. The look is different,
(13:45):
the connotation that comes with the dog is good. And
you were talking about barriers for veterans so I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, absolutely. You know. The thing is is that when
I started, I didn't know all that. I mean, I
was adopting pit bulls out and still I mean they
served their veterans. I mean, I'm doing this, you know,
thirteen going on fourteen years now, so some of those
dogs have passed away, and but I mean they were
amazing and you know, but I didn't know in a difference.
Not that I would have looking back, done anything different,
(14:15):
but when you're looking five dogs a year, that's a
lot of lifestyle that need to be recon you know,
it just it just works. Like I said, we still
the difference is that we don't have to walk through shelters. Now.
Now people will call us when they because of our reputation,
they hear about us. And now if they are facing
a situation to where they are having to place their
(14:36):
blooded dog, you know, we could ask questions. We get
an idea of history and health, but we can get
some of those unanswered unanswered questions right up front and
be able to take dogs without having to walk to shelters,
because that just breaks my heart. I can't stand to
going to a shelter.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
It just breaks my heart give them down all to
me right now.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Oh, absolutely absolutely, So we still get to do it,
but we get to do it that way. And that's
a huge benefit as well because now we have a
little history and one last thing to consider by the
time we train these service dogs. The value of these
dogs are twenty five thousand dollars. That's what it costs
and Northwest Battle Budies to provide one dog to one veteran. Well,
(15:15):
we want the health clearances to be there, we want
this dog to have a long life to serve this
veteran because we're looking at responsibility of donor dollars and
what is the impact, what is the longevity that ultimately
is going to happen, and so you know, there's just
a lot of benefits by having more knowledge and history
on the dog and the breed and the genetics for sure.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Well, thank you again, Shannon Walker here with Northwest Battle Buddies.
They're celebrating their three hundredth service dog for veterans with PTSD,
and I would like to actually go over some of
the things that you know, there's this peer youth study
about what this does for the veterans, and i'd like
to go through some of the things that this has
done a clinically significant reduction PTSD symptoms, relief across all
(16:03):
PTSD symptom categories of reduction and co occurring depression, gains
and resilience, life satisfaction, emotional well being, less isolation, more engagement.
I could see how a dog can help with that,
and veteran perception of healing was overwhelmingly positive. When I
read those things off, obviously are aware of them, But
what does it mean to you?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Oh, it's it's living, you know. It's like, it's it's
you know, we have veterans. They're fighting for their life
and they're surviving. They are surviving. We have ten veterans
right now and I'm like, why are you here? And
They're like, I'm tired of surviving. I want to live.
It's a difference of it's a difference of having hope
(16:44):
that they can see that there is light at the
end of the tunnel, because there's you know. And so
what it means to me is it's what I love
about that study. So we were a part of that study.
We had many, many dogs in it. It's the largest
two year study ever done about the impact of veterans
PTS Service Dogs for Veterans by Jeremy Ramirez. I believe
that's what you're looking at, ye, I think. And with that,
(17:07):
sixty percent of those dogs were North of File Bay
dogs in that study. And what I love is that
it's proven with science what we live every day with
our veterans that we know because because the government is
not paying for service dogs for PTSD, the VA is
not paying for service dogs for PTSD. They're not and
you know Northwest Bible Bodies other organization, our veterans will
(17:30):
tell you it is the difference of life and death.
And in order for it to be taken seriously, it's
not about what we say or what we live every
day with them, it has to be on paper. And
that's what that study has done, is it's like, this
is not something we feel, This is not something that
was an experience in a moment. This is across the board,
numbers moving, This is the impact. This is science. These
(17:52):
dogs are saving lives and changing lives and breaking you know,
helping our veterans break barriers and are the dogs to
cure all to everybody? And should everybody have a service dog? No,
the dog is a tool. That's all it is. It
is a tool that it's trained to help mitigate a disability,
no different than a walker, a cane, or a wheelchair
(18:13):
or whatever it might be. But the fact is is
it's viable and one of the greatest things for my
and I wish that study and it may have it,
but it talks about you know, one of our veterans
that with Troy and he had NOVA and it was
one of our shepherd mixed rescues and he was taking
thirty four pills a day. Oh my gosh, that the
VA had, Yes, thirty four pills a day. Things to
(18:35):
bring him up, things to bring him back down, brings,
things to stabilize him, things to help him sleep, things
to help him wake up. After having NOVA for a year,
he was down with the supervision of his medical provider
to one medication a day.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Oh my gosh, wow.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
That and that is not unusual. Now pills a day
is unusual. But the fact is is that our veterans
eaving a service dog are significantly right away finding that
they are not needing the medications to the degree. And
we always tell our veterans do not go cold turkey.
You need to be under the you know, the supervision
(19:11):
of a medical care provider. They are and it is
some of our veterans' biggest wins is when they aren't
walking through life foggy or sleepy or whatever it is
either because and it's all they had before their dog.
But then once they get their dogs, they're seeing that
there's a new way, and it's an extremely holistic because
(19:31):
this is the other thing. Dogs live in the moment
and you can't. The thing about the dog is that
through the training, even the five weeks with us, they
help the veterans be self aware because the dogs feel them,
and if their dog is struggling, they've got to check
in with themselves what am I going through? Because it's
it's a it's a great regulator.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yes yes, yeah, dogs are rocky. Yes yes.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Everything that the veterans feeling is going right down the
leash to that dog. And so if they're having a
day with their dog, I'm like, what's going on with you?
And they're checking in and then they start to see
how that dog that is it is that leash is
a conduit and so it helps. And so the other
thing is is that when veterans are learning to be
more self aware of how are you letting in? Are
(20:19):
you even in the emotions, Like we have a veteran
right now and he's doing a phenomenal job. However, he
was wanting more engagement from his dog. And we're very professional,
but we're very candid. And it's like I told him,
I said, well, when you came in, I said, it's
better now because we're three weeks into a five week program.
But I said, you're walled up, you don't smile, you
(20:43):
have your sunglasses on, and it's not sunny. And I said,
I said, dogs don't look for what they're not going
to receive from you. And I said, you've got to
give back. You need to. I said, you may not
be able to trust a human, but you can trust
your dog. And so I was talking to him, I'm
about you know, it's like you've got to engage and
(21:03):
the dog, your dog is not going to look for
something he doesn't believe he's going to get, which is
intuitive or when he invites, or because he wants the
dog to be more responsive to him. Then you need
to give back more to the dog, which requires you
to let walls down and let the dog in and
to learn to have these skills because the dog will
I tell the veterans all the time, the dog will
be the service dog you want to they need you
(21:24):
to be because trust goes both ways. And they are
not robots. They are living creatures and this is their
life too.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
And so the thing walks through life walled up because
my dog needs me to be present with him. Well,
you can't be present with a dog and develop that
habit and not be present. And so you know what
I mean, It's like the skills translate and is it
a cure all No? But is it and conduit and
encouragement and is it a great tool to help them
(21:54):
overcome and get through?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yes, yes it is again Shannon Walker here with Northwest
Battle Buddies, Jessamin McIntyre here, Seattle Voice here, presented by
iHeartRadio Seattle. And what I love about that is that,
you know, it sounded like, you know, you're talking about
a veteran with on thirty four pills and it's just
trying to, you know, solve a problem. But as the
(22:18):
old cliche would go, no one's going to help you
more than you can help yourself. And it sounds like
these dogs are helping to teach these veterans how to
help themselves. It's not a cure all, like you said,
but it gives you the tools to not only engage
with the dog, but engage. Just engage, like you said,
not sleepwalking, not surviving, but living.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
So the thing about dogs, they live in the moment.
And that's the one thing that we have to teach
our veterans is to live in the moment. But they don't.
They live in the past, They live in their head,
they live in previous trauma. And so it's like, where
are you at right now? Where are you at, where's
your dogs? Be present with your dogs, And so it's
this you know, I tell our veterans all the time.
(23:04):
You are not responsible for what happened to you, but
you are responsible for your healing. And if you're sitting
in to be paired with one of our dogs, this
is your moment. And that you know our veterans are
you know, when they're dealing with trauma, they're often they
get lost in their heads. They'll they might be in Walmart,
but that's not what they're thinking about. They're busy thinking
(23:25):
about something else. They're busy thinking. We have one of
our veterans right now, one of her triggers is crying children.
Oh and the very first day, we're walking into Walmart,
there's this crying baby and she had to use her dog.
She's on the floor, she's doing DPT, which is deep
pressure therapy, helping her get through a moment. Now, the
(23:46):
beautiful thing is she was able to use her dog
get herself under control, and we finished with our veterans
called a mission. But the fact this is that that
the veterans are so often living in their head. They're
living in the past, they're they're triggered into past trauma.
But the tool that we've given them to use is
an animal that has to in the moment at all times.
(24:07):
And so we're talking about get out of your get
out of your head, be present with your dog. They
do grounding techniques for therapy. They use their dogs as
social barriers as well. The dogs help them with social mobility,
and it's a way for them instead of being in
their head, instead of just running into the store to
get milk and running out, they're actually walking in in
(24:29):
control of their person, in control of their emotions the
best they can. And when they start to get spun up,
they use the dog to come back to the moment
and then they can proceed. And that's the whole point
of viewing the tool, and that's what they're learning, and
you know, it's really profound. And this last this group
that we're in, you know, last Friday was a really
particularly emotional day for all of them. It was just
(24:53):
you know, they had their overnights and they went out
with their dogs and they got approached. You know, one
person got approached in public by a barking dog that
wanted to attack their dog. And we had another person that,
you know, a female went into a restaurant and she
was met by a really nice man. But this nice
man comes up and goes, is that a service dog?
And she said, yes, sir, oh so you must be disabled.
(25:17):
You know. So here's a veteran that it has. It's her,
it's her second overnight with her dog. She's trying to
break her own barriers and go out to eat a
meal in public with her dog. That was her goal.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
That was a huge wins.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Done it without the dog. That was her mission. But
that's what she was faced with. And but you know what,
she she didn't say anything to that, and I don't
know if she smiled at what But she ended up
going and even though she was shaken, and even though
she was triggering, she used her dog. She placed the
dog underneath, handled and she had her meal and she
(25:51):
finished in the barrier. We had another veteran on there overnight.
They took their dog on an overnight to a movie,
something they hadn't done because they want to start to
live again. But that's the point with their dog. They
feel safer and they have a tool to get them
out of their heads, get their heart rate, get everything
back under control when they get slum up.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
I love that. I love it so much.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
And Shannon Walker again with Northwest Battle Buddies, and we
are talking about a lot of different subjects here. We're
talking about dogs and the importance of relationships and getting
over PTSD or just getting through PTSD. I should say
it because I don't think there is ever getting over it,
but getting through it and continuing to live I would
(26:33):
love And I think there's a lot of people in
our area that would love to get involved. So can
you tell us how people can.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
We need the help of American people to serve our
American heroes. These dogs are very expensive and we're always
we're always raising money and so anybody that loves their
freedom in this area. If you want to help a
puppy faster, we have English cream bold and Retrievers and
English Lads and our foster program is eight months to
a year where you live with the puppy and be
(27:00):
that first family and we have complete training, support and
everything else. We also have a monthly giving program that
people can get involved in Operation Never Quit, which helps
us be sustainable and people can just easily donate whatever
they want to donate every month. And honestly, the most
important thing is if you're a veteran or you know
a veteran that you think is also Hope Man, go
(27:21):
to the website. We have an incredible veteran liason that
will help you to process and walk you through the paperwork.
So just see if you can qualify the veteran as
one of our dogs. That would not tell you that
this dog has absolutely changed their life, and our veterans
will tell you they've saved their life. These dogs are
there in a midnight hour when nobody else is for
our veterans and it's making the difference of them living
(27:43):
the next day. Often it is we will get those
we'll get those reports the next day. My service dogs
saved my life last night. And that's not something we
talk about a lot in the fact of, you know,
we want our veterans to live. But the reality is
is that when our veterans get lost in their mind
and they feel all alone, sometimes they don't make great
decisions and it will cost them the rest of their life.
(28:04):
When our dogs are there to interrupt suicidal ideations and
our dogs do, it's the difference of life or death
for some of our veterans. So if there's any veteran
out there that thinks, man, there's nothing for me, check
us out northwestpotbiblies dot org because there is hope out
there on the end of release with a Northwest Bottlelity
service dog.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Absolutely wonderful.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
It is an amazing service and I love that your
passion drove you to do something so amazing for both
the dogs that are involved, the veterans that are involved.
And this week being Veterans Day on Tuesday, it is
even more important to highlight. And I think that you
should not go unnoticed, and it sounds like you aren't.
It sounds like you have a lot of support and
one more time. How can people donate? Can they do
(28:45):
that at the same website?
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yes, they can donate at Northwest Bottlelies dot org. Then
there's a link right there. They can do monthly donations
or one time donations and everything helps.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Well, everything does help, including you, and I am so
glad to have met you, even though it's over the phone,
and I hope to stay in touch and keep on
following every amazing thing that this organization is doing.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Well. Thank you so much for the opportunity and let
us share our mission and the fact this is one
last thing. Our veterans will never speak out now for help,
so we have to tell their story. So thank you
so much for helping Northwest battle Way to tell their story.
They need us.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Thank you, Thank you for everything that you do, and
I will keep you in my heart and maybe foster
one of your puppies in the near future. Just an
amazing conversation with all of you dog lovers and those
who want to support our veterans. I think we can
all come to arms with just wanting to help, and
that is what Seattle Voice is all about, bringing you
new information about ways you can help your community. My
(29:43):
name is Jessamin McIntyre and if you want your voice heard,
just remember you can always email Seattle Voice at iHeartMedia
dot com. Jessemin McIntyre again, this is Seattle Voice, presented
by iHeartRadio in Seattle, and I will talk to you
next
Sug Jessiman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice, your community
Voice presented by iHeartRadio Seattle, and I'm thrilled right now
to be joined by Shannon Walker, who is with Northwest
Battle Buddies as they celebrate their three hundred service dog
for veterans with PTSD. Shannon, I always like to start
this by having you introduce yourself to the audience.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, well, thank you so much first for allowing me
to be on the show. I'm super excited to share
our mission. And my name is Shannon Walker, and I
am the founder and CEO of Northwest Battle Diddies. I've
been a professional dog trainer for thirty years and thirteen
years ago I founded Northwest Battle Diuties and we're busy
training dogs and making difference. And like you just said,
we're training our three hundred dog, paired it with a
(00:42):
veteran and he's going to be graduating in two weeks,
so we're super excited.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And I am a friend to the furry people out
there as I call dogs people because that's that's what
they are to me. And I think a lot of
people in our area would and honestly across the Globe.
I would agree with that. What drew you to become
a dog trainer in the first place.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Oh, you know, that's a great question. Well, I didn't
want I wanted to do animals my whole life. I
wanted to live on a farm, and I wanted horses,
and I wanted to be a veterinarian and I mean
every straight cat, every stray dog, everything. And so I
moved to Tennessee when I was twenty four years old,
and I got a German Shepherd dog and a gentleman
(01:26):
that I ended up marrying was not really the dog
guy that I thought he might be, but regardless, he
was like, get my dog, you know, get the dog trained,
or get rid of him, and getting rid of him
wasn't an option. And I got introduced to through trying
to find a trainer. I got introduced to Jean England,
who won the world championship in schutz in and shutson
(01:46):
is a sport out of Europe, like police dog training. Oh,
and that was my exposure to dog training was that.
And I couldn't believe how a dog and a human
could work so beautifully together, seeing it's like synchronics swimming,
and you know, it was just this incredible, beautiful movement
and I fell in love with it, and so I
(02:06):
started to compete. And I then got married and had twins,
and I wanted to be a stay at home mom,
and in my simple minded thinking, I thought, man, if
I can just you know, train four dogs a month,
I can stay home and you know, start a home
business and take care of my boys at home and
put my values in my children instead of somebody else's.
And that's where it got. My vision was four dogs
(02:28):
a month a long time ago.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
And that doesn't sound simple minded, that sounds mind.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, well it was, and it was, Yeah, it was.
You know, I remember the very first day I actually
had four dogs in for training. That was my goal
and I just thought I was the biggest deal. And uh,
but it was the beginning of a dream. And literally,
you know, thirty years ago, as a professional trainer, I've
(02:57):
trained thousands upon thousands of dogs. I have the honor
of working with police departments. In fact, I just came
out of the cold. Right now, I've got police department
out there training on my property. I just came in
from working with them to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So get it? Yeah, absolutely, but I also, you know,
have the honor of helping people with their pets and
now training dogs for veterans PTSD. And you know, the
dog world is an incredible place to be in. And
I get to do this, and I get to help
so many facets of life, and I get the just
the winds of the transformation that can come through the
(03:35):
relationship of the human and the dog and in the dog,
you know, as you're making the training and so out
of it.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
It's it's a blessing one hundred percent against again.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Shannon Walker joining me Jessman McIntyre here with Seattle Voice
presented by iHeartRadio Seattle, and we're talking about well, I
wanted to know a little bit of your background, but
let's get into Northwest Battle Buddies. As we mentioned, you
are celebrating your three hundredth service dog and this goes
to veterans with PTSD.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
How did that all come about?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So another great question. So my dad served her in
the Korean War, and he taught me to believe in
when you're in the presence of a veteran, you're in
the presence of a hero, even though he never considered
himself one. And he also taught me to believe in
He also taught me to believe in God's family and country.
So when I in running my for profit business that yeah,
(04:26):
I had for almost thirty years, when a veteran came
into that business looking for help, he wanted his dog
to be trained to be a service dog for PTSD
and Northwest Battle Bodies, wasn't even a thought. I just
did what I do. But in that process, because I
trained service dogs before, and I, like I mentioned, I
trained thousands of people helping them with their dogs. But
this experience with Kevin was different. He brought me this
(04:49):
yellow lab, Sammy.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Her name was Sammy, and off the top of your head,
yeah that's.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Great, absolutely absolutely so. But you know, I assessed her.
He was young enough and had timperment enough, and I
trained her. But it was when Kevin came in to
train with me that that's what things, you know, That's
where it changed for me. Because one of the things
is is I learned and I thought I saw Kevin
find the courage inside himself to leave her places he
(05:17):
was afraid to go alone, and I thought I'd be
willing to do for her what he was unwilling to
do for himself. And I also learned about the suicide rate,
and we hear a number of twenty two veterans today
take their life, and it's just the number. But when
Kevin told the story six of his buddies that he
had survived the last firefight with him, he was a
front gunner in the Army, six of his buddies that
(05:38):
had survived that firefight had come home and committed suicide
on American soil. And I just couldn't. I just couldn't
believe it. I just couldn't. My dad always said that
freedom went free, but I didn't know what that truly meant.
But I was realizing, these men and women are still
paying a price for my freedom and are not even
wearing a uniform anymore. And it was when Kevin's training finished,
(05:59):
he did his public access work and we trained on
the tasking. Tasking is where a dog is trained to
mitigate a disability, a symptom of a disability. And when
Kevin was finished, and I watched him walk away and
his head up in his shoulders back, and I was
watching him with Sammy to side walking through the parking
lot leaving, I felt like I truly had made the
(06:19):
difference in the quality of somebody's life. And I've done
a lot of things in the dog world that that
was different. And then I just had you know, if
I can just adopt dogs out of shelters, I can
train them and I can give them and I can
say thank you for my freedom. And to date that
was over three hundred service dogs ago.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Wow. That is amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I am truly thankful for you sharing that because I
think sometimes we see a splash in the news about
you know, it's like a two minute clip on the
news that we'll see and it's cute because you see
a dog and then there's some stats put up, but
you truly live it. And I very much appreciate all
of that. Again, Shannon Walker is joining us from Northwest
(07:00):
Battle Buddies. So this started in twenty twelve, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Correct? Yes?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yes, And so tremendous difference in the lives of veterans,
which obviously you started off with Kevin and Sammy. When
was that And how long into or before that or
after that did you actually found the actual foundation?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Oh no, So Northwest battle Buddies, I went right out.
I mean I have I watched Kevin and then I
was like, you know, well, yeah, I mean I thought,
I have a professional kennel and I have a team.
So I went right out to collect County Dog Services
and I said, check me out, this is what I
want to do. And they checked me out with animal
control and all my life seeing and my reputation, and
(07:43):
they let me walk out with five dogs that day.
I put them in a kennel and then I started,
I'm like, well, I got to be spade and neutered
and everything else. And I just got started. And then
I thought, so I'd already had dogs adopted. And then
I was thinking, well, I need to start a five
H one C three probably so people will help pay
for these dogs, not even knowing what that meant. And
so I found a lawyer, and I mean, I just
(08:06):
found my way and it was clumsy, but it happened
because I just found my way. And then other people
heard about the mission and wanted to come join me.
And I was so humbling to me that people wanted
to help. And it still humbles me today that people joined.
They lock arms with us and help us make a difference.
(08:26):
And but that's I mean, I there was no time wasted.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
It doesn't sound like right out, it doesn't sound like
you waste time.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Yeah, no, we did not waste time. We still don't
waste time. It's you know, there's there's there's a lot
of work to be done. There's a lot of deserving
people and and you know, our American heroes need this,
and it feels like we're always, you know, just running
a little bit on empty because we just are very
aggressive about impact and making a difference and if and
(08:57):
we're just extremely determined. I have a very very determined
and passionate, dedicated team and they Northwest Battle Buddies is
phenomenal to work with and for. And I'm they're just
an incredible group of people.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Well I love it Channon Walker joining me Northwest Battle Buddies.
As we just said, And what I really loved to
hear too, is that you are adopting dogs out of
shelters and rehabbing them as well.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
That has to be fulfilling at the same.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Time, and you know it absolutely is, and I will
tell you you know, we still do that. However, through
the thirteen years and three hundred dogs, we have also
learned we also have a purpose Bread program where we
do work with English Cream Golden Retrievers and English Labs.
And the reason is because number one, when you're so Northwest,
(09:40):
battle Bety is one of the largest service dug providers
for veterans in the United States. Wow, Okay, So so
when you're looking at adopting dogs, even though that is
the most it's so honorable because you want to save
a life, to save a life, and we still do that.
In fact, we took in a chocolate lab named Fitzy
roll Shes Chocolate and so she's going to be training
for our March group. So we still do rescues. But
(10:04):
when you're working with veterans that are in the workforce,
and you're working with veterans that are in you know,
all walks of life and children and everything else. And
the thing is is that as much as we train
the dogs, we train our dogs for five months professionally,
and then we train our veterans for five weeks. They
pass their testing and then we and then we provide
the dogs free of charge to them. But if the
(10:25):
training falls at all, which sometimes life can be lifing.
And even though we support our veterans and they are
phenomenal handlers and we recertify every year and we do
all the things that need to be done in best
practices for a service dog organization. You a good trainer
can cover up what questionable genetics are. So and in
(10:48):
the beginning when we're working with dogs out of shelters,
sometimes we can cover up the genetics a little bit.
Not it just you know, good training transforms the dog.
So what we realize is we have to have dogs
that are sound for the work there inherently. You know,
when when you get a bird dog and you wanted
to hunt, you wanted to have a natural ability to
go hunt, right, and then you're going to bring training
(11:10):
about it. We want the same thing for the service
dog or the service dog industry. We want dogs that
if the training falls at all, these dogs are so
genetically sound and genetically geared and inclined for this type
of service that they are still going to serve our
veterans at the highest level and they'll never be a
liability in public or in the family. Yeah, oh go ahead,
(11:32):
well say And sometimes when you're getting dogs out of
shelters and you're not sure about the breed or you're
not sure, I don't think there's any bad dog by
any means, And we have Shepherds, and we have piples,
and we have hard breeds in our program, especially from
the very beginning. But when you're looking at doing a
group of fourteen veterans and you need the dog to
fit the lifestyle, it's harder to put a German Shepherd
(11:55):
dog in an office because the employer may not you know,
you don't want the public might be intimidated by that
German shepherd. Which now we have another barrier for that
veteran who's trying to get on with this life. And
I own shepherd and Roddy's myself. I love the breed,
they're my breeds. But I mean it's it's so we
still do it all. But we also have a breeding
(12:17):
program which offers people the opportunity to fuster our puppies
and make a difference that way and give back.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Oh I love that. Thank you, Thank you so much
for everything that you do. And I completely understand what
you're saying. It's not like you're judging against the dog.
You're trying to find the perfect fit for those who.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
You're track help.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yes, yeah, and it is. It's not a judgment at all.
And I am a fosterer myself. I had my own.
I'm a big dog person too. I had a Dane
Boxer lab mix who was my best friend forever, and
I lost him in twenty twenty and afterwards, I mean
it was during COVID and everything, so I was working
(12:56):
from home and obviously, like shelters became a big part problem.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
And I said, give me the give me the big ones, because.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Not everybody is a big dog person, and so I
had a big boy, and the male big dogs were
less likely to get fostered or adopted, so I took
them in one at a time, and I think fostering
is wonderful. I still cry my eyes out every time
I found an adoptee. But an adopter, I should say,
(13:22):
but you know, you get the chance to make the
right fit. And I love that about the programs that
I've worked with as well. So I just want to
say I appreciate that. And I totally understand what you're
saying about the read having to fit. You know, the
you know, you get a pit bull or a big
German Shepherd as opposed to a lab. The look is different,
(13:45):
the connotation that comes with the dog is good. And
you were talking about barriers for veterans so I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, absolutely. You know. The thing is is that when
I started, I didn't know all that. I mean, I
was adopting pit bulls out and still I mean they
served their veterans. I mean, I'm doing this, you know,
thirteen going on fourteen years now, so some of those
dogs have passed away, and but I mean they were
amazing and you know, but I didn't know in a difference.
Not that I would have looking back, done anything different,
(14:15):
but when you're looking five dogs a year, that's a
lot of lifestyle that need to be recon you know,
it just it just works. Like I said, we still
the difference is that we don't have to walk through shelters. Now.
Now people will call us when they because of our reputation,
they hear about us. And now if they are facing
a situation to where they are having to place their
(14:36):
blooded dog, you know, we could ask questions. We get
an idea of history and health, but we can get
some of those unanswered unanswered questions right up front and
be able to take dogs without having to walk to shelters,
because that just breaks my heart. I can't stand to
going to a shelter.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
It just breaks my heart give them down all to
me right now.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Oh, absolutely absolutely, So we still get to do it,
but we get to do it that way. And that's
a huge benefit as well because now we have a
little history and one last thing to consider by the
time we train these service dogs. The value of these
dogs are twenty five thousand dollars. That's what it costs
and Northwest Battle Budies to provide one dog to one veteran. Well,
(15:15):
we want the health clearances to be there, we want
this dog to have a long life to serve this
veteran because we're looking at responsibility of donor dollars and
what is the impact, what is the longevity that ultimately
is going to happen, and so you know, there's just
a lot of benefits by having more knowledge and history
on the dog and the breed and the genetics for sure.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Well, thank you again, Shannon Walker here with Northwest Battle Buddies.
They're celebrating their three hundredth service dog for veterans with PTSD,
and I would like to actually go over some of
the things that you know, there's this peer youth study
about what this does for the veterans, and i'd like
to go through some of the things that this has
done a clinically significant reduction PTSD symptoms, relief across all
(16:03):
PTSD symptom categories of reduction and co occurring depression, gains
and resilience, life satisfaction, emotional well being, less isolation, more engagement.
I could see how a dog can help with that,
and veteran perception of healing was overwhelmingly positive. When I
read those things off, obviously are aware of them, But
what does it mean to you?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Oh, it's it's living, you know. It's like, it's it's
you know, we have veterans. They're fighting for their life
and they're surviving. They are surviving. We have ten veterans
right now and I'm like, why are you here? And
They're like, I'm tired of surviving. I want to live.
It's a difference of it's a difference of having hope
(16:44):
that they can see that there is light at the
end of the tunnel, because there's you know. And so
what it means to me is it's what I love
about that study. So we were a part of that study.
We had many, many dogs in it. It's the largest
two year study ever done about the impact of veterans
PTS Service Dogs for Veterans by Jeremy Ramirez. I believe
that's what you're looking at, ye, I think. And with that,
(17:07):
sixty percent of those dogs were North of File Bay
dogs in that study. And what I love is that
it's proven with science what we live every day with
our veterans that we know because because the government is
not paying for service dogs for PTSD, the VA is
not paying for service dogs for PTSD. They're not and
you know Northwest Bible Bodies other organization, our veterans will
(17:30):
tell you it is the difference of life and death.
And in order for it to be taken seriously, it's
not about what we say or what we live every
day with them, it has to be on paper. And
that's what that study has done, is it's like, this
is not something we feel, This is not something that
was an experience in a moment. This is across the board,
numbers moving, This is the impact. This is science. These
(17:52):
dogs are saving lives and changing lives and breaking you know,
helping our veterans break barriers and are the dogs to
cure all to everybody? And should everybody have a service dog? No,
the dog is a tool. That's all it is. It
is a tool that it's trained to help mitigate a disability,
no different than a walker, a cane, or a wheelchair
(18:13):
or whatever it might be. But the fact is is
it's viable and one of the greatest things for my
and I wish that study and it may have it,
but it talks about you know, one of our veterans
that with Troy and he had NOVA and it was
one of our shepherd mixed rescues and he was taking
thirty four pills a day. Oh my gosh, that the
VA had, Yes, thirty four pills a day. Things to
(18:35):
bring him up, things to bring him back down, brings,
things to stabilize him, things to help him sleep, things
to help him wake up. After having NOVA for a year,
he was down with the supervision of his medical provider
to one medication a day.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Oh my gosh, wow.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
That and that is not unusual. Now pills a day
is unusual. But the fact is is that our veterans
eaving a service dog are significantly right away finding that
they are not needing the medications to the degree. And
we always tell our veterans do not go cold turkey.
You need to be under the you know, the supervision
(19:11):
of a medical care provider. They are and it is
some of our veterans' biggest wins is when they aren't
walking through life foggy or sleepy or whatever it is
either because and it's all they had before their dog.
But then once they get their dogs, they're seeing that
there's a new way, and it's an extremely holistic because
(19:31):
this is the other thing. Dogs live in the moment
and you can't. The thing about the dog is that
through the training, even the five weeks with us, they
help the veterans be self aware because the dogs feel them,
and if their dog is struggling, they've got to check
in with themselves what am I going through? Because it's
it's a it's a great regulator.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yes yes, yeah, dogs are rocky. Yes yes.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Everything that the veterans feeling is going right down the
leash to that dog. And so if they're having a
day with their dog, I'm like, what's going on with you?
And they're checking in and then they start to see
how that dog that is it is that leash is
a conduit and so it helps. And so the other
thing is is that when veterans are learning to be
more self aware of how are you letting in? Are
(20:19):
you even in the emotions, Like we have a veteran
right now and he's doing a phenomenal job. However, he
was wanting more engagement from his dog. And we're very professional,
but we're very candid. And it's like I told him,
I said, well, when you came in, I said, it's
better now because we're three weeks into a five week program.
But I said, you're walled up, you don't smile, you
(20:43):
have your sunglasses on, and it's not sunny. And I said,
I said, dogs don't look for what they're not going
to receive from you. And I said, you've got to
give back. You need to. I said, you may not
be able to trust a human, but you can trust
your dog. And so I was talking to him, I'm
about you know, it's like you've got to engage and
(21:03):
the dog, your dog is not going to look for
something he doesn't believe he's going to get, which is
intuitive or when he invites, or because he wants the
dog to be more responsive to him. Then you need
to give back more to the dog, which requires you
to let walls down and let the dog in and
to learn to have these skills because the dog will
I tell the veterans all the time, the dog will
be the service dog you want to they need you
(21:24):
to be because trust goes both ways. And they are
not robots. They are living creatures and this is their
life too.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
And so the thing walks through life walled up because
my dog needs me to be present with him. Well,
you can't be present with a dog and develop that
habit and not be present. And so you know what
I mean, It's like the skills translate and is it
a cure all No? But is it and conduit and
encouragement and is it a great tool to help them
(21:54):
overcome and get through?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yes, yes it is again Shannon Walker here with Northwest
Battle Buddies, Jessamin McIntyre here, Seattle Voice here, presented by
iHeartRadio Seattle. And what I love about that is that,
you know, it sounded like, you know, you're talking about
a veteran with on thirty four pills and it's just
trying to, you know, solve a problem. But as the
(22:18):
old cliche would go, no one's going to help you
more than you can help yourself. And it sounds like
these dogs are helping to teach these veterans how to
help themselves. It's not a cure all, like you said,
but it gives you the tools to not only engage
with the dog, but engage. Just engage, like you said,
not sleepwalking, not surviving, but living.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
So the thing about dogs, they live in the moment.
And that's the one thing that we have to teach
our veterans is to live in the moment. But they don't.
They live in the past, They live in their head,
they live in previous trauma. And so it's like, where
are you at right now? Where are you at, where's
your dogs? Be present with your dogs, And so it's
this you know, I tell our veterans all the time.
(23:04):
You are not responsible for what happened to you, but
you are responsible for your healing. And if you're sitting
in to be paired with one of our dogs, this
is your moment. And that you know our veterans are
you know, when they're dealing with trauma, they're often they
get lost in their heads. They'll they might be in Walmart,
but that's not what they're thinking about. They're busy thinking
(23:25):
about something else. They're busy thinking. We have one of
our veterans right now, one of her triggers is crying children.
Oh and the very first day, we're walking into Walmart,
there's this crying baby and she had to use her dog.
She's on the floor, she's doing DPT, which is deep
pressure therapy, helping her get through a moment. Now, the
(23:46):
beautiful thing is she was able to use her dog
get herself under control, and we finished with our veterans
called a mission. But the fact this is that that
the veterans are so often living in their head. They're
living in the past, they're they're triggered into past trauma.
But the tool that we've given them to use is
an animal that has to in the moment at all times.
(24:07):
And so we're talking about get out of your get
out of your head, be present with your dog. They
do grounding techniques for therapy. They use their dogs as
social barriers as well. The dogs help them with social mobility,
and it's a way for them instead of being in
their head, instead of just running into the store to
get milk and running out, they're actually walking in in
(24:29):
control of their person, in control of their emotions the
best they can. And when they start to get spun up,
they use the dog to come back to the moment
and then they can proceed. And that's the whole point
of viewing the tool, and that's what they're learning, and
you know, it's really profound. And this last this group
that we're in, you know, last Friday was a really
particularly emotional day for all of them. It was just
(24:53):
you know, they had their overnights and they went out
with their dogs and they got approached. You know, one
person got approached in public by a barking dog that
wanted to attack their dog. And we had another person that,
you know, a female went into a restaurant and she
was met by a really nice man. But this nice
man comes up and goes, is that a service dog?
And she said, yes, sir, oh so you must be disabled.
(25:17):
You know. So here's a veteran that it has. It's her,
it's her second overnight with her dog. She's trying to
break her own barriers and go out to eat a
meal in public with her dog. That was her goal.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
That was a huge wins.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Done it without the dog. That was her mission. But
that's what she was faced with. And but you know what,
she she didn't say anything to that, and I don't
know if she smiled at what But she ended up
going and even though she was shaken, and even though
she was triggering, she used her dog. She placed the
dog underneath, handled and she had her meal and she
(25:51):
finished in the barrier. We had another veteran on there overnight.
They took their dog on an overnight to a movie,
something they hadn't done because they want to start to
live again. But that's the point with their dog. They
feel safer and they have a tool to get them
out of their heads, get their heart rate, get everything
back under control when they get slum up.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
I love that. I love it so much.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
And Shannon Walker again with Northwest Battle Buddies, and we
are talking about a lot of different subjects here. We're
talking about dogs and the importance of relationships and getting
over PTSD or just getting through PTSD. I should say
it because I don't think there is ever getting over it,
but getting through it and continuing to live I would
(26:33):
love And I think there's a lot of people in
our area that would love to get involved. So can
you tell us how people can.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
We need the help of American people to serve our
American heroes. These dogs are very expensive and we're always
we're always raising money and so anybody that loves their
freedom in this area. If you want to help a
puppy faster, we have English cream bold and Retrievers and
English Lads and our foster program is eight months to
a year where you live with the puppy and be
(27:00):
that first family and we have complete training, support and
everything else. We also have a monthly giving program that
people can get involved in Operation Never Quit, which helps
us be sustainable and people can just easily donate whatever
they want to donate every month. And honestly, the most
important thing is if you're a veteran or you know
a veteran that you think is also Hope Man, go
(27:21):
to the website. We have an incredible veteran liason that
will help you to process and walk you through the paperwork.
So just see if you can qualify the veteran as
one of our dogs. That would not tell you that
this dog has absolutely changed their life, and our veterans
will tell you they've saved their life. These dogs are
there in a midnight hour when nobody else is for
our veterans and it's making the difference of them living
(27:43):
the next day. Often it is we will get those
we'll get those reports the next day. My service dogs
saved my life last night. And that's not something we
talk about a lot in the fact of, you know,
we want our veterans to live. But the reality is
is that when our veterans get lost in their mind
and they feel all alone, sometimes they don't make great
decisions and it will cost them the rest of their life.
(28:04):
When our dogs are there to interrupt suicidal ideations and
our dogs do, it's the difference of life or death
for some of our veterans. So if there's any veteran
out there that thinks, man, there's nothing for me, check
us out northwestpotbiblies dot org because there is hope out
there on the end of release with a Northwest Bottlelity
service dog.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Absolutely wonderful.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
It is an amazing service and I love that your
passion drove you to do something so amazing for both
the dogs that are involved, the veterans that are involved.
And this week being Veterans Day on Tuesday, it is
even more important to highlight. And I think that you
should not go unnoticed, and it sounds like you aren't.
It sounds like you have a lot of support and
one more time. How can people donate? Can they do
(28:45):
that at the same website?
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yes, they can donate at Northwest Bottlelies dot org. Then
there's a link right there. They can do monthly donations
or one time donations and everything helps.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Well, everything does help, including you, and I am so
glad to have met you, even though it's over the phone,
and I hope to stay in touch and keep on
following every amazing thing that this organization is doing.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Well. Thank you so much for the opportunity and let
us share our mission and the fact this is one
last thing. Our veterans will never speak out now for help,
so we have to tell their story. So thank you
so much for helping Northwest battle Way to tell their story.
They need us.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Thank you, Thank you for everything that you do, and
I will keep you in my heart and maybe foster
one of your puppies in the near future. Just an
amazing conversation with all of you dog lovers and those
who want to support our veterans. I think we can
all come to arms with just wanting to help, and
that is what Seattle Voice is all about, bringing you
new information about ways you can help your community. My
(29:43):
name is Jessamin McIntyre and if you want your voice heard,
just remember you can always email Seattle Voice at iHeartMedia
dot com. Jessemin McIntyre again, this is Seattle Voice, presented
by iHeartRadio in Seattle, and I will talk to you
next
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