May 9, 2024 • 5 mins
Interview with Chaz Koch, Executive Director
Operation Paws on the Ground is a non-profit that rescues dogs from kill shelters and trains them to be support dogs for veterans suffering from a multitude of issues.
Operation Paws on the Ground is a non-profit that rescues dogs from kill shelters and trains them to be support dogs for veterans suffering from a multitude of issues.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I hear community. Thank you somuch for listening. I'm Renee Denino here
chatting with the executive director of OperationPause on the Ground, Chaz Cotch.
It is such a pleasure to haveyou on again. Thank you for being
here. Yes, thank you somuch for having me back. Yeah,
you were on for because of yourpartnership with the Harvard Marathon. But now
you've got a special program, aspecial need, a go fund me,
(00:20):
a setup. We're going to getall into that. But meanwhile, if
somebody wants to hear the show again, get connected. You could go to
my community access dot com. Youcould download our free iHeartRadio app and look
for Community Access. And you canalso get directly to Operation Pause on the
Ground by visiting what chas Operation Pauseon the Ground dot org. Fantastic.
(00:41):
All right, reminder audience who youare and how you help. Absolutely so.
Operation Pause in the Ground takes rescuedogs and pairs them with veterans and
then trains the rescue dogs become serviceand support dogs for the veterans. That
can be anything from suffering from KSDPTSD to a physical disability and everything in
(01:02):
between. We believe our mission isto save one vet, save one dog
and heal two hearts at a time. And you have a situation right now
that the Connecticut community can get behind, support and help, and you do
just that with a veteran and adog. Can you tell us about the
situation? Absolutely? One of ourrescue dogs in training Carson. He's been
(01:23):
with his veteran Josh for a numberof months now and at their family home,
Carson accidentally slipped out the front doorwhen they were getting everyone out.
They have a few children as well, and Carson was hit by a car.
Oh God, he is doing okay. He is at the VET.
He has had a surgery. Theywere able to get his lung back into
(01:44):
working order, but he's going toneed an additional surgery and unfortunately the VET
will not perform the surgery until theyhave a significant poses. We hate when
that happens. So what can wedo as a community to help support and
rally for you to get this money. The Operation Pause on the Ground has
set up a GoFundMe page for Carson'sVET bill, So any donation, you
(02:07):
know, even just ten dollars tomake a significant impact. We are just
under one thousand dollars right now.We're looking to raise up to eight thousand.
We've already got four thousand dollars inmedical bills covered, but we're anticipating
much more to come. All right, and this is important. Tell me
about the matchup and tell me whatthis means to the veteran and to Carson.
(02:27):
Absolutely. So, Josh met Carsona few months back, as I
mentioned, and he was just ina place where he needed that companion to
help him through his day to daybased off of the experiences he had when
he was serving his country. Andso what we do is we interview the
veteran and we find out what's mostimportant to them, how can we best
help suit their needs. And thenwe have a number of rescues and fosters
(02:49):
that we work with where we goand we provide that information to them and
they recommend some dogs that might bea good fit. From there, we
introduce the veteran in the dog andsee if there patable and see how they
interact with each other. We havea trainer on staff who also will vet
the dogs to make sure that thedog has the capacity to do exactly what
the veteran needs. And then fromthere, our organization covers all the training,
(03:12):
all of the vet bills, thefirst six months worth of pet insurance
throughout the dog's life, so thatwe can help keep tabs on them as
well as make sure that everything's goingsmooth and that we're really you know,
giving back to the veteran and tothe rescue dogs. So if we were
to visit Operation Pause on the grounddot org, would we be able to
get right to the link of thisgo fund me because I feel like it's
(03:36):
easier to go through your website andthen link up right there if the information
is ready for folks to donate.It is. It is on the homepage
on our website. You can readall about what our organization does. You
can also sponsor a dog's journey andthen even see the pictures of Josh and
Carson in action together. You know, veterans need our support, not only
when they are protecting our country goingoff and serving when they come home.
(04:00):
Oftentimes we forget about our veterans andwe don't give them the respect and the
things that they deserve, because comingback home and getting back into civilian life
sometimes it can be a tricky process, and mental health is so important,
and it's been proven that these dogsprovide such great companionship. I'm not going
to repeat everything you just said becauseobviously that's what we're talking about today and
we understand this. But truly,the bond in the relationship is so impactful.
(04:24):
But it also helps this veteran betterget assimilated back with their families and
their friends and back into society.So this is just such a win win
organization Operation Pause on the ground dotorg. Find out about the GoF on
me for Carson, and maybe agood Samaritan is listening right now. Maybe
the doctor or the veterinarian hospital willjust find it in their heart to do
(04:46):
the surgery and let you guys makepayments, because I mean, if you
hate to hear of a dog oranybody suffering, and I don't want to
call out the vetter or anything,but I mean, it's just heartbreaking.
And I know everybody has to paytheir bills. I do understand that,
but I feel like every situation iscircumstantial, right, So anyways, Chaz,
I'll get off my soapbox. I'msorry, Operation Pause. I wanted
to say, all right, OperationPause on the ground dot org. Right
(05:11):
now, we are we are allabout Carson. We're all about getting him
that surgery. We are going tobe grateful when he gets that surgery,
and we're gonna be grateful to anybodywho donates and chas always a pleasure to
have you on our program. Thankyou so much for ne We'll talk soon.
I hear community. Thank you somuch for listening. I'm Renee Denino here
chatting with the executive director of OperationPause on the Ground, Chaz Cotch.
It is such a pleasure to haveyou on again. Thank you for being
here. Yes, thank you somuch for having me back. Yeah,
you were on for because of yourpartnership with the Harvard Marathon. But now
you've got a special program, aspecial need, a go fund me,
(00:20):
a setup. We're going to getall into that. But meanwhile, if
somebody wants to hear the show again, get connected. You could go to
my community access dot com. Youcould download our free iHeartRadio app and look
for Community Access. And you canalso get directly to Operation Pause on the
Ground by visiting what chas Operation Pauseon the Ground dot org. Fantastic.
(00:41):
All right, reminder audience who youare and how you help. Absolutely so.
Operation Pause in the Ground takes rescuedogs and pairs them with veterans and
then trains the rescue dogs become serviceand support dogs for the veterans. That
can be anything from suffering from KSDPTSD to a physical disability and everything in
(01:02):
between. We believe our mission isto save one vet, save one dog
and heal two hearts at a time. And you have a situation right now
that the Connecticut community can get behind, support and help, and you do
just that with a veteran and adog. Can you tell us about the
situation? Absolutely? One of ourrescue dogs in training Carson. He's been
(01:23):
with his veteran Josh for a numberof months now and at their family home,
Carson accidentally slipped out the front doorwhen they were getting everyone out.
They have a few children as well, and Carson was hit by a car.
Oh God, he is doing okay. He is at the VET.
He has had a surgery. Theywere able to get his lung back into
(01:44):
working order, but he's going toneed an additional surgery and unfortunately the VET
will not perform the surgery until theyhave a significant poses. We hate when
that happens. So what can wedo as a community to help support and
rally for you to get this money. The Operation Pause on the Ground has
set up a GoFundMe page for Carson'sVET bill, So any donation, you
(02:07):
know, even just ten dollars tomake a significant impact. We are just
under one thousand dollars right now.We're looking to raise up to eight thousand.
We've already got four thousand dollars inmedical bills covered, but we're anticipating
much more to come. All right, and this is important. Tell me
about the matchup and tell me whatthis means to the veteran and to Carson.
(02:27):
Absolutely. So, Josh met Carsona few months back, as I
mentioned, and he was just ina place where he needed that companion to
help him through his day to daybased off of the experiences he had when
he was serving his country. Andso what we do is we interview the
veteran and we find out what's mostimportant to them, how can we best
help suit their needs. And thenwe have a number of rescues and fosters
(02:49):
that we work with where we goand we provide that information to them and
they recommend some dogs that might bea good fit. From there, we
introduce the veteran in the dog andsee if there patable and see how they
interact with each other. We havea trainer on staff who also will vet
the dogs to make sure that thedog has the capacity to do exactly what
the veteran needs. And then fromthere, our organization covers all the training,
(03:12):
all of the vet bills, thefirst six months worth of pet insurance
throughout the dog's life, so thatwe can help keep tabs on them as
well as make sure that everything's goingsmooth and that we're really you know,
giving back to the veteran and tothe rescue dogs. So if we were
to visit Operation Pause on the grounddot org, would we be able to
get right to the link of thisgo fund me because I feel like it's
(03:36):
easier to go through your website andthen link up right there if the information
is ready for folks to donate.It is. It is on the homepage
on our website. You can readall about what our organization does. You
can also sponsor a dog's journey andthen even see the pictures of Josh and
Carson in action together. You know, veterans need our support, not only
when they are protecting our country goingoff and serving when they come home.
(04:00):
Oftentimes we forget about our veterans andwe don't give them the respect and the
things that they deserve, because comingback home and getting back into civilian life
sometimes it can be a tricky process, and mental health is so important,
and it's been proven that these dogsprovide such great companionship. I'm not going
to repeat everything you just said becauseobviously that's what we're talking about today and
we understand this. But truly,the bond in the relationship is so impactful.
(04:24):
But it also helps this veteran betterget assimilated back with their families and
their friends and back into society.So this is just such a win win
organization Operation Pause on the ground dotorg. Find out about the GoF on
me for Carson, and maybe agood Samaritan is listening right now. Maybe
the doctor or the veterinarian hospital willjust find it in their heart to do
(04:46):
the surgery and let you guys makepayments, because I mean, if you
hate to hear of a dog oranybody suffering, and I don't want to
call out the vetter or anything,but I mean, it's just heartbreaking.
And I know everybody has to paytheir bills. I do understand that,
but I feel like every situation iscircumstantial, right, So anyways, Chaz,
I'll get off my soapbox. I'msorry, Operation Pause. I wanted
to say, all right, OperationPause on the ground dot org. Right
(05:11):
now, we are we are allabout Carson. We're all about getting him
that surgery. We are going tobe grateful when he gets that surgery,
and we're gonna be grateful to anybodywho donates and chas always a pleasure to
have you on our program. Thankyou so much for ne We'll talk soon.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.