May 26, 2025 • 38 mins
When Marine veteran Ryan Woodruff returned from two combat deployments to Iraq, he found himself adrift in civilian life. "It was even difficult just to strike up casual conversation," he reveals, describing the profound disconnect many veterans experience after service. Today, as CEO of Clear Path for Veterans, he's transforming lives through programs built on firsthand understanding of the military-civilian divide.
The heart of Woodruff's story isn't just his personal journey from infantryman to nonprofit leader, but how his organization approaches veteran services differently. Rather than imposing pre-packaged solutions, Clear Path designs programs by asking: "What would I want if I were in their shoes?" This veteran-centered philosophy drives everything from their weekly "Canteen" meals serving hundreds of veterans to their gold-standard service dog program.
What sets their service dog initiative apart is its meticulous approach. Each dog undergoes a two-year training journey costing $25,000-$50,000, from purpose-bred puppies raised by volunteer "canine guardians" to professional training tailored to address specific veteran needs related to PTS or traumatic brain injury. Unlike organizations with years-long waiting lists, Clear Path commits to placing dogs within 12 months or referring veterans to partner organizations, ensuring timely support.
Serving 33 counties across New York state through mobile outreach, Clear Path embodies Woodruff's conviction that "we owe it to them to welcome them home, not just thank them for service." With 200,000+ veterans leaving service yearly, his organization provides a blueprint for how communities can truly support military transitions through meaningful connection, purpose-driven programs, and recognition of each veteran's unique journey.
Want to support Clear Path's mission? Visit clearpathforveterans.com to learn how you can contribute to their work providing service dogs, culinary programs, and comprehensive support to veterans at no cost.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Zilliox (00:00):
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run, and unfortunately this
week our co-host, John Wall, isnot available, so he won't be
joining us, but we have anexcellent guest Ryan Woodruff is
joining us.
He is the CEO of Clear Path forVeterans, which is a veteran
(00:23):
service organization located inupstate New York, and they have
a bunch of amazing programs.
I was taking a look at theirwebpage and great webpage, great
programs.
The one I'm really interestedin talking to them about is the
service dogs for veterans.
(00:43):
So, ryan, welcome to thepodcast.
Ryan Woodruff (00:46):
Thanks, larry, appreciate you having me.
I think it's incredible whatyou're doing and look forward to
the conversation.
Larry Zilliox (00:51):
Well, if you would tell us why you are a
Marine Corps veteran.
So let's start with youexplaining why you chose the
Marine Corps and not the AirForce.
Ryan Woodruff (01:04):
Well, every story has a beginning, middle and end
, and I'll try to keep itconcise.
I've always wanted to be aMarine.
I mean, I knew from a veryyoung age I wanted to be in the
military.
I grew an affinity for theMarine Corps.
Actually, as early as gradeschool I was introduced to Full
Metal Jacket and some of the oldmilitary movies, and you would
(01:25):
think that would have deterredme.
Yeah right, but I just becameaffixed by it and I love the
idea of joining a fraternity anda brotherhood fighting after a
common cause.
And the Marine Corps has thisreputation for being challenging
, producing hard men and allthat.
And so I was like that's it,that's what I got to do and
(01:49):
that's going to be the goal.
Wow, when did you join 2005.
?
So, again, like I knew I wasgoing to join, I wanted to
enlist.
I told my mother that this iswhat I wanted to do.
My mom raised us, my brotherand I, and at 17, I showed up
with a recruiter and I was likeall right, now's the day, like I
(02:10):
, if you could just sign theseenlistment papers, it's going to
give me a little bit of aheadstart so that you know when
I actually do ship off to ParrisIsland, I at least have some
basic knowledge and fitness sothat I can get through boot camp
and all that.
And she knew I was doing it andshe didn't enthusiastically
(02:30):
sign the papers, but she did anda couple of months later she
signed the papers for my brotheras well and we both shipped off
to Parris Island at the sametime.
Larry Zilliox (02:39):
Wow, wow.
And how long were you in?
Ryan Woodruff (02:42):
Four years.
So I did one term in theinfantry and at the time it was
at the height of Operation IraqiFreedom.
So, knowing that I wasenlisting in the Marine Corps
and a combat MOS, I had knownfull well that I'd be deploying
to Iraq very shortly after, andat the time I've embraced that I
(03:04):
said, well, this is really kindof putting the money where my
mouth is and this is what Iwanted to do.
I why enlist and join a combatMOS if I don't plan on going to
fight for my country?
So again, I, you know I didthat and very shortly after
enlisting, within about sevenmonths or so give or take, I was
off on my first deployment toIraq.
Larry Zilliox (03:27):
How many times did you go over?
Ryan Woodruff (03:28):
Twice.
Larry Zilliox (03:29):
Okay, and so now, what was it that said to you?
That spoke to you and said I'mout four years I'm out.
It's not a career for me.
Ryan Woodruff (03:40):
Hard times, not to say that I didn't embrace
those hard times, but, havingexperienced a lot of loss on my
first deployment, not everybodycame home and that was something
hard to wrestle with.
At 19 years old and experiencingsome of those things within, I
(04:00):
would say, some of the mostformative periods of my life, I
started to look at the biggerpicture and, you know asking
myself is this, what?
What am I risking here?
And which I was full, fullyready to do in terms of if I
didn't make it home?
I, you know I had wrestled withthat before I left, that before
(04:26):
I left.
But after experiencing twodeployments to Iraq and doing
all that, I started to thinkabout like, am I ever going to
start a family or go to collegeor build a career for myself
that goes beyond the walls ofthe military?
So I started to really, youknow, think about that.
And it just so happened thatwhen it came time for
re-enlistment and some of theoffers were put on the table, I
(04:49):
had already decided that I wasgonna go the civilian route and
see what I can do on the outsideworld.
Larry Zilliox (04:56):
So, um, that puts you like 2009, you're out and
what um?
What do you do?
What?
What was your transition like?
Ryan Woodruff (05:05):
That's a great question.
And I had a plan and it was,you know, with the background
that I had in the infantry, Ithought law enforcement was just
going to be what made sense.
And so I got out of themilitary, I used my GI Bill and
went to school for criminaljustice and ended up pursuing
(05:25):
law enforcement with the statepolice, local police, and at the
time there really wasn't a lotof hiring going on.
So those plans fell throughpretty quickly and I had to
pivot and think about well, ifI'm not going to do this, what
else is it?
What am I going to do?
That aligns with my purpose, myidentity, which I would say was
compromised at that time becauseI was in a community in which I
(05:50):
couldn't identify with anybodyreally, you know, being in
college as a 22 year old that'shad two combat tours under their
belt and has gone through someof those experiences.
It was even difficult just tostrike up casual conversation.
So I was really struggling tojust find myself, I guess, is
(06:10):
the best way to put it.
Sure, and I had to make a newplan, and so I did.
I ended up going to college forforestry and natural resources
and pursued a career inarboriculture, and I did that
for about six years, but thetime in the military and then
the continued damage I was doingon my physical health with that
(06:33):
type of career.
I was just setting myself upfor what could potentially be an
early medical retirement, whichI did not want to do, so I
ended up finding ClearPath acouple of years later.
Larry Zilliox (06:46):
Right, and you began with ClearPath as a peer
support specialist.
Is that right?
Ryan Woodruff (06:51):
Yeah, a friend of mine was working here at the
time and we went to collegetogether.
He was also in the Marine Corpsand he was running the
employment program and he said,hey, we're looking for a veteran
that has successfullytransitioned from the military
culture to civilian society andwe happen to be looking for
somebody within your geographicrange and with your experiences,
(07:12):
we think that you'd be good forthat position.
It's like okay, well, thatsounds like perfect.
Larry Zilliox (07:19):
I have to laugh because that's like looking for
a unicorn.
It is A veteran whosuccessfully transitioned.
I wish people could understandthat.
But yeah, you're good enoughfor the position, 100%.
Yeah, that's just awesome.
We're looking for a veteran whosuccessfully transitioned.
(07:40):
That's awesome.
Ryan Woodruff (07:41):
And what I didn't know then, that I know full
well now that I was juststarting on a journey that would
take me about a decade toreally figure out.
Yeah, you know how totransition.
Some of the things I could havebeen doing, that I should have
been doing um, behavioral habits, just that, things that I was
pursuing that were were just nothealthy right, and it took me a
(08:04):
very long time to figure thatout and it just happened to be
my work as a peer mentor wasdoing a lot for me in that area,
just connecting with otherveterans and talking with them
and identifying with some of theexperiences that they were
having and some of thechallenges that they were trying
to overcome.
I started to take a closer lookat my own life and say, if I'm
(08:28):
going to go out there and travelaround connecting with other
veterans across the state of NewYork and try to help them get
back on their feet, I have tostart doing something personally
for myself, which led me down acouple different paths.
Larry Zilliox (08:45):
You got hired on to ClearPath.
How did ClearPath for Veteransstart?
Ryan Woodruff (08:49):
It's a great question.
So it actually started by acommunity member, a civilian
local to central New York whowas running a dog training
studio, and at the time her nameis Melissa Spicer.
She was going through some ofher own struggles trying to have
children and not being able todo that and some health issues
(09:11):
and a veteran had approached herat her dog training studio and
said like, hey, I got this ideain which I would love to and
this is back in 2011, before theyou know, the resurgence of
some of these service dogs ororganizations that were popping
up I had this idea of starting aprogram dedicated to training
(09:32):
service dogs for veterans thatare diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress andtraumatic brain injury.
Before this all came tofruition, she she had actually
thought this guy was aveterinarian because he said
that and she thought he wastrying to sell her products at
her dog training studios shekind of kept blowing them off
and then eventually she put twoand two together and he kept
(09:53):
reaching out and it's like, oh,you're a veteran and you're
trying to start a service dogprogram and with her skill sets
and her experience and what shewas doing for decades and what
he was trying to accomplish.
It was a great synergy.
So Melissa and her sister,melinda, along with an Air Force
(10:15):
veteran that continued toapproach her this guy named
Steve Kinney together, the threeof them are co-founders started
ClearPath in 2011.
Of my co-founders startedClearPath in 2011.
Similar to what you do at theWarrior Retreat, they acquired a
large property, about 78 acres,with what used to be an old
recreation center for families.
That went into disrepair, wenton the market and they were able
(10:37):
to purchase this property andstart developing these programs,
beginning with what was calledDogs to Vets at the time and
then moving into the peersupport arena as well shortly
after.
Larry Zilliox (10:50):
So fast forward.
You come on board and you'renow the CEO.
I'm going to attribute that toyour skills and your ability,
and not that you're the last manstanding.
So what was it like to kind oftake command of the ship and say
(11:14):
this is the direction we wantto go, and this is what we want
to do, and this is how we'regoing to get there?
Ryan Woodruff (11:20):
That's a great question.
I will say, first off, like Inever wanted to be the CEO while
I'm full of gratitude andhumility and just never felt
like I had the business acumento run an organization of this
size and going back to my daysas an infantryman, I just would
look in the mirror and, like youknow, you go through a period
(11:43):
of self-doubt and say like, whyme, why would I be qualified to
do this incredible work?
So it was a difficult transitionpersonally for me to accept
that role.
But all the while I mean youknow, going back, I've been here
for nine years now when Istarted here as a peer mentor, I
would just really look at thelived in experience approach
(12:06):
from the veterans perspectiveand how could we design our
programs and services to reallytruly meet the unique needs of
the veterans and the challengesthat they're facing, including
their families.
So you know, thoughtfully, overtime, I would just say, hey,
maybe we could take a differentapproach here or we could change
(12:26):
the program design.
In this way we could end upserving more people or we could
potentially hit a niche ofveterans that we're not
targeting right now and overtime, just started really taking
a closer look at program designand developing these programs.
It really helped elevate theorganization and all I was doing
(12:48):
was just taking it from a.
I've been through this.
I know what these men and womenare experiencing and if I was
in their shoes and coming toClearPath, this is how I would
want to be treated.
These are the types of servicesthat I would be interested in
participating in.
I was a peer mentor for about ayear before I moved into the
(13:10):
canine program, and that's awhole separate chapter but
essentially doing the same thing.
Larry Zilliox (13:16):
Well, I like your approach to it in that there's
a lot of VSOs out there that say, well, let's see we can do this
, and then we're just going togive what we do to veterans
without even figuring out ifthat's really what veterans want
or need.
It's like here take it, this iswhat we do.
(13:39):
We know you need it, but theyreally don't.
And there's a lot oforganizations with programs and
services that get very littleattention because they're just
not appropriate for the area,for the type of clientele, and I
like that you have thatapproach to say these are the
services that veterans need.
(13:59):
That we're, you know, talkingto veterans.
We do the same thing here.
We're constantly polling ouralumni, we're constantly asking
the families when they stay.
You know, what can we do better?
What do you need?
What did we not have that youwere looking forward to?
And it's just great.
And I've looked at the programsonline.
(14:20):
I'm very interested in theculinary program.
As director of culinaryservices here, I get the honor
of working with the finestmilitary chefs in the world.
They're all here around thePentagon and Joint Chiefs and
the Naval Observatory and theWhite House, and so they come
out and volunteer to do dinnersfor family, and so I'm just
(14:42):
fascinated by your culinaryprogram.
How did it?
Ryan Woodruff (14:45):
get started.
So back in the early days ofClear Path Melissa, she read a
story about a small town inNebraska called North Platte.
Oh yeah, you may have heardthis, my uncle lives there.
Larry Zilliox (15:00):
Yeah, my cousin lives there?
Ryan Woodruff (15:01):
Yeah, been there, so you're familiar with the
canteen.
Yes, that's right, it's a railtown yeah.
Yeah, and she attached herselfto that concept and just said
you know, there's theseservicemen and women that were
returning home from the war andthe community embraced them by
providing home-cooked meals assoon as they were coming off
(15:23):
these trains.
And she wanted to.
She thought about, like howcould we do this?
We already we had a commercialkitchen that was already
established on the property,needed some repair, but there
was just opportunity right.
(15:43):
So she started the conceptlocally of canteen, in which
every Wednesday betweenvolunteers and our culinary
staff, we put on a luncheon opento veterans and their families.
And that was the start.
So it grew quickly inpopularity, I mean, and we had
canteen today and we had wellover 200 folks coming from the
33 county catchment area that weserve in New York and beyond.
(16:05):
I mean, people use the campusas otherwise, if they had
nothing to do and not anopportunity to engage with other
veterans and family members,clear Path provides that through
its canteen.
So every Wednesday actuallyTuesday is prep time.
So Tuesday you have 30volunteers and a full-time staff
(16:29):
about seven people right nowincluding a corporate chef, a
sous chef and a few culinaryassistants to put together a
meal to meet the need whichusually we expect upwards of 300
people on any given Wednesday.
Sometimes that's weatherdependent and it's the test of
time.
I mean people when they thinkabout ClearPath or they attend
(16:53):
our facility, they immediatelyassociate us with the weekly
luncheons.
That we do Doesn't stop there.
A couple of years ago we got afood trailer, so now we're
taking the canteen on the roadand we're going out to local
communities across New York anddoing what we call mobile
(17:13):
canteens and just trying tobring as much of what we do here
.
It's hard to replicate itbecause it's a different type of
atmosphere.
Usually we're partnering withlike a local legion or a
community provider to allow usto use the space and we'll bring
the canteen to them.
The other part of that is we dowhat's called mini mobiles, so
(17:35):
there's a lot of communityliving centers with veterans in
them across the area we serveand we'll bring canteen to them
as well if they can't get to us.
So it's a full-blown show.
I mean it takes a village forsure.
We couldn't do it without thevolunteers coming to support us
every week.
Oh yeah, pretty big operation,but they do an incredible job.
(17:58):
They put out really incrediblefood.
We have local gardens here, soum you know it's, it's.
Larry Zilliox (18:06):
What are you serving?
What's for lunch?
Ryan Woodruff (18:08):
Uh it, it ranges.
Uh, sometimes it's lasagna.
Every week it's going to bedifferent.
Um, post the menu and leteverybody know kind of what
we're thinking the week ahead,but always very good food.
I always tell people when theythink of canteen, it is
community building.
(18:28):
It's not.
While it can be a crisis need,if somebody can't put food on
the table, if they need a placeto eat, they're certainly
welcome to come here andparticipate.
But it's also just aboutbringing people here to share a
meal and very limited to nobarrier to entry.
Right, we're not checking VA IDcards as people come in.
(18:49):
We just open the doors and saycome on in, sit down.
It's also an opportunity forour peer mentors to go out and
talk to other veterans and seeif there's any unique needs that
they need met to get themenrolled in a case management
type of program as well.
Larry Zilliox (19:06):
And I imagine it's got to be a pretty awesome
community outreach program fordeveloping core volunteers.
Ryan Woodruff (19:13):
Oh yeah for sure, and there's a lot of folks in
the community that have retiredand are looking for what's next
for them, and a lot of them withthe cooking experience or are
just interested in learning anew skill, and so our culinary
team has embraced that, and wehave a lot of regulars that just
, uh, have stood the test oftime with us, and a lot of new
(19:34):
folks coming in to to help outhow big is your staff there
overall?
We have 40 full-time employees,seven part-time, good.
Larry Zilliox (19:44):
Lord.
Ryan Woodruff (19:44):
It's a yeah mix of veterans and civilians, which
is good, because we really partof our vision is bridging the
military civilian divide.
So we start that inside thewalls of ClearPath and that
permeates in those that we serveas well.
Larry Zilliox (20:02):
Wow.
Well, we're running here withone full-time executive director
and five part-time employeeslike myself who work full-time,
but everything else is done forus by volunteers full-time, but
everything else is done for usby volunteers.
We're extremely fortunate, andit sounds like you guys are.
(20:23):
Most VSOs that are providingdirect services to veterans are
like that.
They couldn't exist withoutvolunteers and without the
community giving back.
And we also look at it likeit's twofold it's we're
providing services to veterans,but we're also giving the
(20:44):
community a chance to do thesame thing and participate in
what we get out of it, which iswe always get more than we give.
And I'm sure you see the samething with your volunteer
community as well.
Ryan Woodruff (20:59):
Oh yeah, I mean, it's part of our model is
service after service, and ourbiggest desire not biggest, but
one of our hopes is that thosethat go through our programs be
it canine, culinary, workforce,development, peer support is
that when they get to a placewhere they're better or that
their needs have been met, thatthey'll turn around and want to
(21:22):
give back to the fellow veteranor family member that's also in
need.
So it takes a village, yeah forsure, really does.
We're grateful for thecommunity we have.
I do miss having a small staff.
It's a lot to manage, but it'severybody's here for the right
reasons and we, new York state'svery large Um again, we cover
(21:44):
33 counties, um, as far North asCanada, as far South as
Pennsylvania, all the way outtowards the city Buffalo, and
our peer mentors live in thecounties that we serve, which is
good, because if we get areferral from a community
provider in a catchment areathat's outside of the commuting
distance of our campus, the peermentors that are residing
(22:07):
within those counties can getdirectly to them and help them
where they're at, instead ofrequiring them to come to the
campus and so on and so forth.
Larry Zilliox (22:16):
Sure, you're more likely to be successful
bringing services to them thanrequiring them to travel
distances to get service 100%.
Ryan Woodruff (22:26):
A lot of the vets that we serve don't have
transportation or are strugglingwith homelessness, can't put
food on the table, and you knowthere's some that are really
doing well and just gettingafter it and looking to brush up
their resume or find ameaningful career.
So there's a huge continuum ofthose that we serve and we try
(22:46):
to have something for everybody,no matter where they're at when
they connect with us.
Larry Zilliox (22:51):
Right, so let's talk about the Service Dog
Program, because I love these.
We are connected with three orfour organizations here in our
area and I know many of ourlisteners understand how
important service dogs are toveterans.
When they have a service dog,their life changes and your
(23:14):
ability to bring that toveterans is very special because
you don't charge for anything.
This is all funded by grantsand donations.
But what does your service dogtraining program look like?
Ryan Woodruff (23:32):
It's pretty incredible and I'll go back to
my experience.
When I started here, it was in2016, under what was called Dogs
to Vets, and since we'vechanged that model and at the
time, the organization waspartnering with local shelters
and helping to rehabilitate someof these dogs coming out of the
shelters and train them asservice dogs, which is a common
(23:55):
model in the industry, and it'snot that it can't be successful,
but I will say there are a hostof challenges that come with a
shelter dog model and, at theend of the day, we'll serve a
veteran from any era, you know,any age group it's, and we have
(24:17):
to ensure that, when we placethe dog with a veteran, that
they can live a meaningfulworking life and continue to do
the job and also be bulletproofto whatever the environment
brings their way running by therestaurant, food being dropped
on the floor, you name it.
(24:38):
I mean, there's just so manythings that a dog is faced with
when they're brought out intothe community, and so when I
started, I I went through theprogram, so I was a recipient
and, uh, I didn't.
You know, candidly, I did nothave a great experience.
I ended up with a dog thatcould not meet the criteria to
(25:00):
become a service dog and I endedup self-selecting myself out of
the program.
But I was left with this dog andshe was challenging, to say the
least, and I'm grateful foreverything that she was, because
she really helped me discovermy affinity for dog training,
for working with other veteransthat were going along a similar
(25:20):
journey.
So the staff at the timeinvested in me a little bit
professionally and they sent meto a dog training school and I
learned more skills of the trade.
And then I got myself formallyinvolved as a dedicated staff
member within the canine programand started to do exactly what
I was doing within the peerprogram, which was just
(25:41):
critically evaluate.
You know what are we doing?
Where's the bar and how do wemeet the bar to ensure that this
, this is truly meeting theunique challenges of those
facing whatever those strugglesare that aren't helping them
meet their independence.
And it's there's so manycomorbidities when it comes to
post-traumatic stress andtraumatic brain injury that not
(26:03):
one service dog coming out ofour program is going to be the
same, because people aredifferent and how they respond
to some of these challenges isgoing to be different, and the
dog that they're going to bemost compatible with is gonna
have to, you know, be able toperform those specialized tasks
and those behaviors to helpmitigate those symptoms.
(26:24):
So, real quick, I went in 2017.
I had I went to a conferencefor assistance dogs
international and it's agoverning body of providers that
establishes very high standardsin the service dog industry,
and I was immersed in anenvironment where I saw all of
(26:44):
these service dogs that justlooked impeccable, like really
keyed into their handlers, theywere doing their jobs and they
were just really incredible andthat's that I took away from
that.
I was like that's the bar,that's where we need to go.
We need to become accredited byAssistance Dogs International.
We need to establish a breedingprogram that purposely breeds
(27:07):
these dogs that are for thistype of job and it's not to
discount the human-animal bondin any dog, the human animal
bond in any dog and most peopleget dogs because they're looking
for canine companionship andthe benefits of the human animal
bond, which are all incredible,but when you're taking that dog
into public, wherever thegeneral public is legally
(27:30):
allowed to go, there's a highbar to be set.
And so learned this veryquickly through my own
experience, through networking,through going to various
conferences and learning moreabout the industry.
And for the next four and ahalf years, we set off to become
accredited by ADI andcompletely transformed this
program, and so we were able toachieve that and in 2022, we
(27:51):
became accredited by ADI.
We have a purpose bred puppydevelopment program.
We place dogs nationally acrossthe country with veterans
diagnosed with post-traumaticstress and traumatic brain
injury and other comorbiditiesthat are associated with that.
It takes two years to train ourservice dogs that was my next
(28:12):
question.
Yeah, and it takes a villageright Volunteers Sure, we have a
ton of volunteers Yep Puppyraisers we call them canine
guardians that agree to raisethese dogs in their home for 18
months and all the while they'rereceiving training from us and
once the dog is 18 months old,they go into their intensive
(28:33):
training.
They stay with us for sixmonths, in which we
professionalize everything aboutthe curriculum.
We make sure that they can doall of the tasks associated with
the veteran that they're goingto eventually go to, that they
can navigate all of thechallenges with the general
public and that they can do itright, because not every dog in
(28:53):
training is going to be aservice dog.
Even when you have the bestbreeding programs in the world,
there's still a rate at whichnot everyone will make it.
Larry Zilliox (29:03):
And what's the waiting list look like?
Ryan Woodruff (29:06):
That's another good question.
So our model is unique in thatwe do open enrollment and so if
we can't place a service dogwith a veteran within a 12-month
period, we're going to referthem to a partnering
organization that's alsoaccredited by ADI and that's in
the best interest of the veteranthat's connecting with us.
(29:27):
I just don't believe thattelling somebody it's going to
be three to five years in orderto place them with a service dog
is in the best interest foranybody, right in the best
interest for anybody.
So we take a very close look atour forecast every year to know
exactly the number of servicedogs we're going to be able to
place within a given year.
We open up our applications andwe'll take just a little bit
(29:50):
more in case there's acircumstance within the
individual's life that changes,so that we have a number of
veterans that can be connectedwith all the service dogs that
will be ready for training thatgiven year, which is about 12 to
15 each year.
Okay, not a ton, but again, ittakes two years to train every
dog.
We have about 40 dogs intraining at any given time and
(30:16):
on that staff specifically isabout 12 people that are
dedicated to doing that work.
Larry Zilliox (30:21):
How much does it cost you to train the dog
through that whole life cycle?
Ryan Woodruff (30:26):
It ranges.
So it'll cost tens of thousandsof dollars.
I will say it's well over 25grand to fully train a service
dog.
At the high end it could beupwards of 50 grand and that
really comes down to veterinaryhealth ensuring that they have
health clearances for hips, eyes, elbows, heart and the
(30:48):
one-on-one training that they'rereceiving from their trainers.
There's a lot of time involvedwith that, clearly over a
two-year period.
And then when we're bringing aveteran in from anywhere across
the state, we cover all thecosts, including accommodations,
food, travel, just everythingso that it can have that
all-inclusive experience and nothave to spend a dime.
(31:10):
So it does cost a lot of money.
Unfortunately, we have a seriesof grants and donations and
fundraisers that we dothroughout the year to continue
to support that effort.
Again, I keep saying it takes avillage.
It certainly does, but we'revery.
We hold in high regard theanimal welfare.
(31:32):
So beyond all else we want tomake sure that the dogs are
getting the highest quality oflife, best food available, best
training and the best healthcare available that they can
receive.
So you know, bringing aveterinarian to come in and do
eye clearances, anophthalmologist or a
(31:53):
cardiologist to look at theirheart and do ectocardiograms.
It costs a ton of money, butit's really important because we
want to ensure that when weplace the dog, that they're
going to live a long, happy,healthy life, to be able to
continue to perform the workwithout an additional burden on
(32:14):
the veteran that would requirespecialized diets or medications
or things that wouldn't bereasonable to pass on as a
service dog placement.
Larry Zilliox (32:24):
Right, well, listeners, you heard it there
$25,000 per dog just to get themtrained up, get them healthy,
get them out the door, get thempaired with the veteran so that
they're performing all theneeded tasks.
It's not cheap and I want todirect everybody to the webpage.
(32:44):
It's clearpathforveteranscom.
The four can either be a numberor it can be FOR, but I want
everybody to go to the webpage,clearpathforveteranscom, and our
regular listeners know what I'mgoing to say.
That donate button is up in theright-hand corner.
It's red, like every other VSO.
(33:05):
Bang on it, give what you can,and I know there's some of you
out there going.
Well, geez, he says that forevery episode.
Yeah, I get it, but pick, youknow, pick and choose.
But this is this is one thatreally really puts your money to
good work.
I mean, there's just no doubtabout it.
I know my sister had a servicedog and it changed her life and
(33:29):
then it changed her life again,nearly paralyzing her life when
her dog passed away, and so Iknow how important a service dog
is to a veteran and they do alot of programs.
They do some amazing work.
The culinary program up thereis just incredible, but the
(33:49):
service dog program is really, Ithink, the premier program that
they offer and it's really thegold standard for any
organization that's providingservice dogs.
And sadly, there's some outthere that just aren't worth
anything, that their training isridiculous, it's very limited,
(34:14):
they're charging and if you're aveteran listening to this, you
should never have to pay for aservice dog.
There are organizations thatwill provide them and it may
take a little while, but youdon't want to pay.
We don't want you paying for aservice dog.
Most of the organizations thatcharge for service dogs.
You're just not gettinganything worth your money,
(34:35):
believe me.
But this organization isdifferent.
This organization reallyfocuses on the quality of life
for the dog, which means thatdog is going to be available to
that veteran and help thatveteran on a daily basis for a
long time.
(34:56):
And so again,clearpathforveteranscom, bang on
that donate button, give whatyou can a dollar, $10, $1,000,
whatever you got.
Give it and know that this isan organization that is going to
provide, safeguard your moneyand really use it wisely and and
(35:19):
definitely provide an amazingservice for veterans.
So, ryan, as we kind of wrap up, what's the one thing you want
to leave our listeners with thatthey should know about clear
path for veterans?
Ryan Woodruff (35:35):
well, I would say you back to what I've been
saying, less about Clear Pathand more about our
responsibility as a community.
200,000 plus veterans areleaving the service every year,
and it is we owe it to them topay back for their service, to
welcome them home and to providean environment where they can
(35:58):
be as successful as theypossibly can be, help them
realize their potential.
There is no one.
I think it's really importantthat we continue to collaborate
as a community of providers andwe're not trying to duplicate
services that other people aredoing well.
We're just trying to meet theneed and fill gaps.
(36:19):
If you're out there and you'reproviding a unique service and
you want to connect withClearPath so that we can add you
to our partner list, we'd loveto do that and just keep being a
community that cares.
So thank you.
Larry Zilliox (36:32):
Yeah Well, I really love what you say about
welcoming them home, becausethat's our motto here.
We have a huge sign at theentrance to the driveway and it
says welcome home.
We don't say thank you for yourservice and we're excited to
explore a partnership with you.
All you know we're a gooddistance apart, but we're always
(36:57):
looking for resources to helpinquiries and veterans that need
help and service anywhere inthe country, and it's just been
great having you on today.
I really appreciate it.
Ryan Woodruff (37:11):
Thank you, larry, likewise Appreciate it.
Larry Zilliox (37:13):
Well for our listeners, we'll have another
episode next Monday morning at0500.
If you like to get up early andlisten to podcasts, you can
find us on all the podcastplatforms.
We're also on YouTube andWreaths Across America Radio.
So until the next time, thanksfor listening.
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run, and unfortunately this
week our co-host, John Wall, isnot available, so he won't be
joining us, but we have anexcellent guest Ryan Woodruff is
joining us.
He is the CEO of Clear Path forVeterans, which is a veteran
(00:23):
service organization located inupstate New York, and they have
a bunch of amazing programs.
I was taking a look at theirwebpage and great webpage, great
programs.
The one I'm really interestedin talking to them about is the
service dogs for veterans.
(00:43):
So, ryan, welcome to thepodcast.
Ryan Woodruff (00:46):
Thanks, larry, appreciate you having me.
I think it's incredible whatyou're doing and look forward to
the conversation.
Larry Zilliox (00:51):
Well, if you would tell us why you are a
Marine Corps veteran.
So let's start with youexplaining why you chose the
Marine Corps and not the AirForce.
Ryan Woodruff (01:04):
Well, every story has a beginning, middle and end
, and I'll try to keep itconcise.
I've always wanted to be aMarine.
I mean, I knew from a veryyoung age I wanted to be in the
military.
I grew an affinity for theMarine Corps.
Actually, as early as gradeschool I was introduced to Full
Metal Jacket and some of the oldmilitary movies, and you would
(01:25):
think that would have deterredme.
Yeah right, but I just becameaffixed by it and I love the
idea of joining a fraternity anda brotherhood fighting after a
common cause.
And the Marine Corps has thisreputation for being challenging
, producing hard men and allthat.
And so I was like that's it,that's what I got to do and
(01:49):
that's going to be the goal.
Wow, when did you join 2005.
?
So, again, like I knew I wasgoing to join, I wanted to
enlist.
I told my mother that this iswhat I wanted to do.
My mom raised us, my brotherand I, and at 17, I showed up
with a recruiter and I was likeall right, now's the day, like I
(02:10):
, if you could just sign theseenlistment papers, it's going to
give me a little bit of aheadstart so that you know when
I actually do ship off to ParrisIsland, I at least have some
basic knowledge and fitness sothat I can get through boot camp
and all that.
And she knew I was doing it andshe didn't enthusiastically
(02:30):
sign the papers, but she did anda couple of months later she
signed the papers for my brotheras well and we both shipped off
to Parris Island at the sametime.
Larry Zilliox (02:39):
Wow, wow.
And how long were you in?
Ryan Woodruff (02:42):
Four years.
So I did one term in theinfantry and at the time it was
at the height of Operation IraqiFreedom.
So, knowing that I wasenlisting in the Marine Corps
and a combat MOS, I had knownfull well that I'd be deploying
to Iraq very shortly after, andat the time I've embraced that I
(03:04):
said, well, this is really kindof putting the money where my
mouth is and this is what Iwanted to do.
I why enlist and join a combatMOS if I don't plan on going to
fight for my country?
So again, I, you know I didthat and very shortly after
enlisting, within about sevenmonths or so give or take, I was
off on my first deployment toIraq.
Larry Zilliox (03:27):
How many times did you go over?
Ryan Woodruff (03:28):
Twice.
Larry Zilliox (03:29):
Okay, and so now, what was it that said to you?
That spoke to you and said I'mout four years I'm out.
It's not a career for me.
Ryan Woodruff (03:40):
Hard times, not to say that I didn't embrace
those hard times, but, havingexperienced a lot of loss on my
first deployment, not everybodycame home and that was something
hard to wrestle with.
At 19 years old and experiencingsome of those things within, I
(04:00):
would say, some of the mostformative periods of my life, I
started to look at the biggerpicture and, you know asking
myself is this, what?
What am I risking here?
And which I was full, fullyready to do in terms of if I
didn't make it home?
I, you know I had wrestled withthat before I left, that before
(04:26):
I left.
But after experiencing twodeployments to Iraq and doing
all that, I started to thinkabout like, am I ever going to
start a family or go to collegeor build a career for myself
that goes beyond the walls ofthe military?
So I started to really, youknow, think about that.
And it just so happened thatwhen it came time for
re-enlistment and some of theoffers were put on the table, I
(04:49):
had already decided that I wasgonna go the civilian route and
see what I can do on the outsideworld.
Larry Zilliox (04:56):
So, um, that puts you like 2009, you're out and
what um?
What do you do?
What?
What was your transition like?
Ryan Woodruff (05:05):
That's a great question.
And I had a plan and it was,you know, with the background
that I had in the infantry, Ithought law enforcement was just
going to be what made sense.
And so I got out of themilitary, I used my GI Bill and
went to school for criminaljustice and ended up pursuing
(05:25):
law enforcement with the statepolice, local police, and at the
time there really wasn't a lotof hiring going on.
So those plans fell throughpretty quickly and I had to
pivot and think about well, ifI'm not going to do this, what
else is it?
What am I going to do?
That aligns with my purpose, myidentity, which I would say was
compromised at that time becauseI was in a community in which I
(05:50):
couldn't identify with anybodyreally, you know, being in
college as a 22 year old that'shad two combat tours under their
belt and has gone through someof those experiences.
It was even difficult just tostrike up casual conversation.
So I was really struggling tojust find myself, I guess, is
(06:10):
the best way to put it.
Sure, and I had to make a newplan, and so I did.
I ended up going to college forforestry and natural resources
and pursued a career inarboriculture, and I did that
for about six years, but thetime in the military and then
the continued damage I was doingon my physical health with that
(06:33):
type of career.
I was just setting myself upfor what could potentially be an
early medical retirement, whichI did not want to do, so I
ended up finding ClearPath acouple of years later.
Larry Zilliox (06:46):
Right, and you began with ClearPath as a peer
support specialist.
Is that right?
Ryan Woodruff (06:51):
Yeah, a friend of mine was working here at the
time and we went to collegetogether.
He was also in the Marine Corpsand he was running the
employment program and he said,hey, we're looking for a veteran
that has successfullytransitioned from the military
culture to civilian society andwe happen to be looking for
somebody within your geographicrange and with your experiences,
(07:12):
we think that you'd be good forthat position.
It's like okay, well, thatsounds like perfect.
Larry Zilliox (07:19):
I have to laugh because that's like looking for
a unicorn.
It is A veteran whosuccessfully transitioned.
I wish people could understandthat.
But yeah, you're good enoughfor the position, 100%.
Yeah, that's just awesome.
We're looking for a veteran whosuccessfully transitioned.
(07:40):
That's awesome.
Ryan Woodruff (07:41):
And what I didn't know then, that I know full
well now that I was juststarting on a journey that would
take me about a decade toreally figure out.
Yeah, you know how totransition.
Some of the things I could havebeen doing, that I should have
been doing um, behavioral habits, just that, things that I was
pursuing that were were just nothealthy right, and it took me a
(08:04):
very long time to figure thatout and it just happened to be
my work as a peer mentor wasdoing a lot for me in that area,
just connecting with otherveterans and talking with them
and identifying with some of theexperiences that they were
having and some of thechallenges that they were trying
to overcome.
I started to take a closer lookat my own life and say, if I'm
(08:28):
going to go out there and travelaround connecting with other
veterans across the state of NewYork and try to help them get
back on their feet, I have tostart doing something personally
for myself, which led me down acouple different paths.
Larry Zilliox (08:45):
You got hired on to ClearPath.
How did ClearPath for Veteransstart?
Ryan Woodruff (08:49):
It's a great question.
So it actually started by acommunity member, a civilian
local to central New York whowas running a dog training
studio, and at the time her nameis Melissa Spicer.
She was going through some ofher own struggles trying to have
children and not being able todo that and some health issues
(09:11):
and a veteran had approached herat her dog training studio and
said like, hey, I got this ideain which I would love to and
this is back in 2011, before theyou know, the resurgence of
some of these service dogs ororganizations that were popping
up I had this idea of starting aprogram dedicated to training
(09:32):
service dogs for veterans thatare diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress andtraumatic brain injury.
Before this all came tofruition, she she had actually
thought this guy was aveterinarian because he said
that and she thought he wastrying to sell her products at
her dog training studios shekind of kept blowing them off
and then eventually she put twoand two together and he kept
(09:53):
reaching out and it's like, oh,you're a veteran and you're
trying to start a service dogprogram and with her skill sets
and her experience and what shewas doing for decades and what
he was trying to accomplish.
It was a great synergy.
So Melissa and her sister,melinda, along with an Air Force
(10:15):
veteran that continued toapproach her this guy named
Steve Kinney together, the threeof them are co-founders started
ClearPath in 2011.
Of my co-founders startedClearPath in 2011.
Similar to what you do at theWarrior Retreat, they acquired a
large property, about 78 acres,with what used to be an old
recreation center for families.
That went into disrepair, wenton the market and they were able
(10:37):
to purchase this property andstart developing these programs,
beginning with what was calledDogs to Vets at the time and
then moving into the peersupport arena as well shortly
after.
Larry Zilliox (10:50):
So fast forward.
You come on board and you'renow the CEO.
I'm going to attribute that toyour skills and your ability,
and not that you're the last manstanding.
So what was it like to kind oftake command of the ship and say
(11:14):
this is the direction we wantto go, and this is what we want
to do, and this is how we'regoing to get there?
Ryan Woodruff (11:20):
That's a great question.
I will say, first off, like Inever wanted to be the CEO while
I'm full of gratitude andhumility and just never felt
like I had the business acumento run an organization of this
size and going back to my daysas an infantryman, I just would
look in the mirror and, like youknow, you go through a period
(11:43):
of self-doubt and say like, whyme, why would I be qualified to
do this incredible work?
So it was a difficult transitionpersonally for me to accept
that role.
But all the while I mean youknow, going back, I've been here
for nine years now when Istarted here as a peer mentor, I
would just really look at thelived in experience approach
(12:06):
from the veterans perspectiveand how could we design our
programs and services to reallytruly meet the unique needs of
the veterans and the challengesthat they're facing, including
their families.
So you know, thoughtfully, overtime, I would just say, hey,
maybe we could take a differentapproach here or we could change
(12:26):
the program design.
In this way we could end upserving more people or we could
potentially hit a niche ofveterans that we're not
targeting right now and overtime, just started really taking
a closer look at program designand developing these programs.
It really helped elevate theorganization and all I was doing
(12:48):
was just taking it from a.
I've been through this.
I know what these men and womenare experiencing and if I was
in their shoes and coming toClearPath, this is how I would
want to be treated.
These are the types of servicesthat I would be interested in
participating in.
I was a peer mentor for about ayear before I moved into the
(13:10):
canine program, and that's awhole separate chapter but
essentially doing the same thing.
Larry Zilliox (13:16):
Well, I like your approach to it in that there's
a lot of VSOs out there that say, well, let's see we can do this
, and then we're just going togive what we do to veterans
without even figuring out ifthat's really what veterans want
or need.
It's like here take it, this iswhat we do.
(13:39):
We know you need it, but theyreally don't.
And there's a lot oforganizations with programs and
services that get very littleattention because they're just
not appropriate for the area,for the type of clientele, and I
like that you have thatapproach to say these are the
services that veterans need.
(13:59):
That we're, you know, talkingto veterans.
We do the same thing here.
We're constantly polling ouralumni, we're constantly asking
the families when they stay.
You know, what can we do better?
What do you need?
What did we not have that youwere looking forward to?
And it's just great.
And I've looked at the programsonline.
(14:20):
I'm very interested in theculinary program.
As director of culinaryservices here, I get the honor
of working with the finestmilitary chefs in the world.
They're all here around thePentagon and Joint Chiefs and
the Naval Observatory and theWhite House, and so they come
out and volunteer to do dinnersfor family, and so I'm just
(14:42):
fascinated by your culinaryprogram.
How did it?
Ryan Woodruff (14:45):
get started.
So back in the early days ofClear Path Melissa, she read a
story about a small town inNebraska called North Platte.
Oh yeah, you may have heardthis, my uncle lives there.
Larry Zilliox (15:00):
Yeah, my cousin lives there?
Ryan Woodruff (15:01):
Yeah, been there, so you're familiar with the
canteen.
Yes, that's right, it's a railtown yeah.
Yeah, and she attached herselfto that concept and just said
you know, there's theseservicemen and women that were
returning home from the war andthe community embraced them by
providing home-cooked meals assoon as they were coming off
(15:23):
these trains.
And she wanted to.
She thought about, like howcould we do this?
We already we had a commercialkitchen that was already
established on the property,needed some repair, but there
was just opportunity right.
(15:43):
So she started the conceptlocally of canteen, in which
every Wednesday betweenvolunteers and our culinary
staff, we put on a luncheon opento veterans and their families.
And that was the start.
So it grew quickly inpopularity, I mean, and we had
canteen today and we had wellover 200 folks coming from the
33 county catchment area that weserve in New York and beyond.
(16:05):
I mean, people use the campusas otherwise, if they had
nothing to do and not anopportunity to engage with other
veterans and family members,clear Path provides that through
its canteen.
So every Wednesday actuallyTuesday is prep time.
So Tuesday you have 30volunteers and a full-time staff
(16:29):
about seven people right nowincluding a corporate chef, a
sous chef and a few culinaryassistants to put together a
meal to meet the need whichusually we expect upwards of 300
people on any given Wednesday.
Sometimes that's weatherdependent and it's the test of
time.
I mean people when they thinkabout ClearPath or they attend
(16:53):
our facility, they immediatelyassociate us with the weekly
luncheons.
That we do Doesn't stop there.
A couple of years ago we got afood trailer, so now we're
taking the canteen on the roadand we're going out to local
communities across New York anddoing what we call mobile
(17:13):
canteens and just trying tobring as much of what we do here
.
It's hard to replicate itbecause it's a different type of
atmosphere.
Usually we're partnering withlike a local legion or a
community provider to allow usto use the space and we'll bring
the canteen to them.
The other part of that is we dowhat's called mini mobiles, so
(17:35):
there's a lot of communityliving centers with veterans in
them across the area we serveand we'll bring canteen to them
as well if they can't get to us.
So it's a full-blown show.
I mean it takes a village forsure.
We couldn't do it without thevolunteers coming to support us
every week.
Oh yeah, pretty big operation,but they do an incredible job.
(17:58):
They put out really incrediblefood.
We have local gardens here, soum you know it's, it's.
Larry Zilliox (18:06):
What are you serving?
What's for lunch?
Ryan Woodruff (18:08):
Uh it, it ranges.
Uh, sometimes it's lasagna.
Every week it's going to bedifferent.
Um, post the menu and leteverybody know kind of what
we're thinking the week ahead,but always very good food.
I always tell people when theythink of canteen, it is
community building.
(18:28):
It's not.
While it can be a crisis need,if somebody can't put food on
the table, if they need a placeto eat, they're certainly
welcome to come here andparticipate.
But it's also just aboutbringing people here to share a
meal and very limited to nobarrier to entry.
Right, we're not checking VA IDcards as people come in.
(18:49):
We just open the doors and saycome on in, sit down.
It's also an opportunity forour peer mentors to go out and
talk to other veterans and seeif there's any unique needs that
they need met to get themenrolled in a case management
type of program as well.
Larry Zilliox (19:06):
And I imagine it's got to be a pretty awesome
community outreach program fordeveloping core volunteers.
Ryan Woodruff (19:13):
Oh yeah for sure, and there's a lot of folks in
the community that have retiredand are looking for what's next
for them, and a lot of them withthe cooking experience or are
just interested in learning anew skill, and so our culinary
team has embraced that, and wehave a lot of regulars that just
, uh, have stood the test oftime with us, and a lot of new
(19:34):
folks coming in to to help outhow big is your staff there
overall?
We have 40 full-time employees,seven part-time, good.
Larry Zilliox (19:44):
Lord.
Ryan Woodruff (19:44):
It's a yeah mix of veterans and civilians, which
is good, because we really partof our vision is bridging the
military civilian divide.
So we start that inside thewalls of ClearPath and that
permeates in those that we serveas well.
Larry Zilliox (20:02):
Wow.
Well, we're running here withone full-time executive director
and five part-time employeeslike myself who work full-time,
but everything else is done forus by volunteers full-time, but
everything else is done for usby volunteers.
We're extremely fortunate, andit sounds like you guys are.
(20:23):
Most VSOs that are providingdirect services to veterans are
like that.
They couldn't exist withoutvolunteers and without the
community giving back.
And we also look at it likeit's twofold it's we're
providing services to veterans,but we're also giving the
(20:44):
community a chance to do thesame thing and participate in
what we get out of it, which iswe always get more than we give.
And I'm sure you see the samething with your volunteer
community as well.
Ryan Woodruff (20:59):
Oh yeah, I mean, it's part of our model is
service after service, and ourbiggest desire not biggest, but
one of our hopes is that thosethat go through our programs be
it canine, culinary, workforce,development, peer support is
that when they get to a placewhere they're better or that
their needs have been met, thatthey'll turn around and want to
(21:22):
give back to the fellow veteranor family member that's also in
need.
So it takes a village, yeah forsure, really does.
We're grateful for thecommunity we have.
I do miss having a small staff.
It's a lot to manage, but it'severybody's here for the right
reasons and we, new York state'svery large Um again, we cover
(21:44):
33 counties, um, as far North asCanada, as far South as
Pennsylvania, all the way outtowards the city Buffalo, and
our peer mentors live in thecounties that we serve, which is
good, because if we get areferral from a community
provider in a catchment areathat's outside of the commuting
distance of our campus, the peermentors that are residing
(22:07):
within those counties can getdirectly to them and help them
where they're at, instead ofrequiring them to come to the
campus and so on and so forth.
Larry Zilliox (22:16):
Sure, you're more likely to be successful
bringing services to them thanrequiring them to travel
distances to get service 100%.
Ryan Woodruff (22:26):
A lot of the vets that we serve don't have
transportation or are strugglingwith homelessness, can't put
food on the table, and you knowthere's some that are really
doing well and just gettingafter it and looking to brush up
their resume or find ameaningful career.
So there's a huge continuum ofthose that we serve and we try
(22:46):
to have something for everybody,no matter where they're at when
they connect with us.
Larry Zilliox (22:51):
Right, so let's talk about the Service Dog
Program, because I love these.
We are connected with three orfour organizations here in our
area and I know many of ourlisteners understand how
important service dogs are toveterans.
When they have a service dog,their life changes and your
(23:14):
ability to bring that toveterans is very special because
you don't charge for anything.
This is all funded by grantsand donations.
But what does your service dogtraining program look like?
Ryan Woodruff (23:32):
It's pretty incredible and I'll go back to
my experience.
When I started here, it was in2016, under what was called Dogs
to Vets, and since we'vechanged that model and at the
time, the organization waspartnering with local shelters
and helping to rehabilitate someof these dogs coming out of the
shelters and train them asservice dogs, which is a common
(23:55):
model in the industry, and it'snot that it can't be successful,
but I will say there are a hostof challenges that come with a
shelter dog model and, at theend of the day, we'll serve a
veteran from any era, you know,any age group it's, and we have
(24:17):
to ensure that, when we placethe dog with a veteran, that
they can live a meaningfulworking life and continue to do
the job and also be bulletproofto whatever the environment
brings their way running by therestaurant, food being dropped
on the floor, you name it.
(24:38):
I mean, there's just so manythings that a dog is faced with
when they're brought out intothe community, and so when I
started, I I went through theprogram, so I was a recipient
and, uh, I didn't.
You know, candidly, I did nothave a great experience.
I ended up with a dog thatcould not meet the criteria to
(25:00):
become a service dog and I endedup self-selecting myself out of
the program.
But I was left with this dog andshe was challenging, to say the
least, and I'm grateful foreverything that she was, because
she really helped me discovermy affinity for dog training,
for working with other veteransthat were going along a similar
(25:20):
journey.
So the staff at the timeinvested in me a little bit
professionally and they sent meto a dog training school and I
learned more skills of the trade.
And then I got myself formallyinvolved as a dedicated staff
member within the canine programand started to do exactly what
I was doing within the peerprogram, which was just
(25:41):
critically evaluate.
You know what are we doing?
Where's the bar and how do wemeet the bar to ensure that this
, this is truly meeting theunique challenges of those
facing whatever those strugglesare that aren't helping them
meet their independence.
And it's there's so manycomorbidities when it comes to
post-traumatic stress andtraumatic brain injury that not
(26:03):
one service dog coming out ofour program is going to be the
same, because people aredifferent and how they respond
to some of these challenges isgoing to be different, and the
dog that they're going to bemost compatible with is gonna
have to, you know, be able toperform those specialized tasks
and those behaviors to helpmitigate those symptoms.
(26:24):
So, real quick, I went in 2017.
I had I went to a conferencefor assistance dogs
international and it's agoverning body of providers that
establishes very high standardsin the service dog industry,
and I was immersed in anenvironment where I saw all of
(26:44):
these service dogs that justlooked impeccable, like really
keyed into their handlers, theywere doing their jobs and they
were just really incredible andthat's that I took away from
that.
I was like that's the bar,that's where we need to go.
We need to become accredited byAssistance Dogs International.
We need to establish a breedingprogram that purposely breeds
(27:07):
these dogs that are for thistype of job and it's not to
discount the human-animal bondin any dog, the human animal
bond in any dog and most peopleget dogs because they're looking
for canine companionship andthe benefits of the human animal
bond, which are all incredible,but when you're taking that dog
into public, wherever thegeneral public is legally
(27:30):
allowed to go, there's a highbar to be set.
And so learned this veryquickly through my own
experience, through networking,through going to various
conferences and learning moreabout the industry.
And for the next four and ahalf years, we set off to become
accredited by ADI andcompletely transformed this
program, and so we were able toachieve that and in 2022, we
(27:51):
became accredited by ADI.
We have a purpose bred puppydevelopment program.
We place dogs nationally acrossthe country with veterans
diagnosed with post-traumaticstress and traumatic brain
injury and other comorbiditiesthat are associated with that.
It takes two years to train ourservice dogs that was my next
(28:12):
question.
Yeah, and it takes a villageright Volunteers Sure, we have a
ton of volunteers Yep Puppyraisers we call them canine
guardians that agree to raisethese dogs in their home for 18
months and all the while they'rereceiving training from us and
once the dog is 18 months old,they go into their intensive
(28:33):
training.
They stay with us for sixmonths, in which we
professionalize everything aboutthe curriculum.
We make sure that they can doall of the tasks associated with
the veteran that they're goingto eventually go to, that they
can navigate all of thechallenges with the general
public and that they can do itright, because not every dog in
(28:53):
training is going to be aservice dog.
Even when you have the bestbreeding programs in the world,
there's still a rate at whichnot everyone will make it.
Larry Zilliox (29:03):
And what's the waiting list look like?
Ryan Woodruff (29:06):
That's another good question.
So our model is unique in thatwe do open enrollment and so if
we can't place a service dogwith a veteran within a 12-month
period, we're going to referthem to a partnering
organization that's alsoaccredited by ADI and that's in
the best interest of the veteranthat's connecting with us.
(29:27):
I just don't believe thattelling somebody it's going to
be three to five years in orderto place them with a service dog
is in the best interest foranybody, right in the best
interest for anybody.
So we take a very close look atour forecast every year to know
exactly the number of servicedogs we're going to be able to
place within a given year.
We open up our applications andwe'll take just a little bit
(29:50):
more in case there's acircumstance within the
individual's life that changes,so that we have a number of
veterans that can be connectedwith all the service dogs that
will be ready for training thatgiven year, which is about 12 to
15 each year.
Okay, not a ton, but again, ittakes two years to train every
dog.
We have about 40 dogs intraining at any given time and
(30:16):
on that staff specifically isabout 12 people that are
dedicated to doing that work.
Larry Zilliox (30:21):
How much does it cost you to train the dog
through that whole life cycle?
Ryan Woodruff (30:26):
It ranges.
So it'll cost tens of thousandsof dollars.
I will say it's well over 25grand to fully train a service
dog.
At the high end it could beupwards of 50 grand and that
really comes down to veterinaryhealth ensuring that they have
health clearances for hips, eyes, elbows, heart and the
(30:48):
one-on-one training that they'rereceiving from their trainers.
There's a lot of time involvedwith that, clearly over a
two-year period.
And then when we're bringing aveteran in from anywhere across
the state, we cover all thecosts, including accommodations,
food, travel, just everythingso that it can have that
all-inclusive experience and nothave to spend a dime.
(31:10):
So it does cost a lot of money.
Unfortunately, we have a seriesof grants and donations and
fundraisers that we dothroughout the year to continue
to support that effort.
Again, I keep saying it takes avillage.
It certainly does, but we'revery.
We hold in high regard theanimal welfare.
(31:32):
So beyond all else we want tomake sure that the dogs are
getting the highest quality oflife, best food available, best
training and the best healthcare available that they can
receive.
So you know, bringing aveterinarian to come in and do
eye clearances, anophthalmologist or a
(31:53):
cardiologist to look at theirheart and do ectocardiograms.
It costs a ton of money, butit's really important because we
want to ensure that when weplace the dog, that they're
going to live a long, happy,healthy life, to be able to
continue to perform the workwithout an additional burden on
(32:14):
the veteran that would requirespecialized diets or medications
or things that wouldn't bereasonable to pass on as a
service dog placement.
Larry Zilliox (32:24):
Right, well, listeners, you heard it there
$25,000 per dog just to get themtrained up, get them healthy,
get them out the door, get thempaired with the veteran so that
they're performing all theneeded tasks.
It's not cheap and I want todirect everybody to the webpage.
(32:44):
It's clearpathforveteranscom.
The four can either be a numberor it can be FOR, but I want
everybody to go to the webpage,clearpathforveteranscom, and our
regular listeners know what I'mgoing to say.
That donate button is up in theright-hand corner.
It's red, like every other VSO.
(33:05):
Bang on it, give what you can,and I know there's some of you
out there going.
Well, geez, he says that forevery episode.
Yeah, I get it, but pick, youknow, pick and choose.
But this is this is one thatreally really puts your money to
good work.
I mean, there's just no doubtabout it.
I know my sister had a servicedog and it changed her life and
(33:29):
then it changed her life again,nearly paralyzing her life when
her dog passed away, and so Iknow how important a service dog
is to a veteran and they do alot of programs.
They do some amazing work.
The culinary program up thereis just incredible, but the
(33:49):
service dog program is really, Ithink, the premier program that
they offer and it's really thegold standard for any
organization that's providingservice dogs.
And sadly, there's some outthere that just aren't worth
anything, that their training isridiculous, it's very limited,
(34:14):
they're charging and if you're aveteran listening to this, you
should never have to pay for aservice dog.
There are organizations thatwill provide them and it may
take a little while, but youdon't want to pay.
We don't want you paying for aservice dog.
Most of the organizations thatcharge for service dogs.
You're just not gettinganything worth your money,
(34:35):
believe me.
But this organization isdifferent.
This organization reallyfocuses on the quality of life
for the dog, which means thatdog is going to be available to
that veteran and help thatveteran on a daily basis for a
long time.
(34:56):
And so again,clearpathforveteranscom, bang on
that donate button, give whatyou can a dollar, $10, $1,000,
whatever you got.
Give it and know that this isan organization that is going to
provide, safeguard your moneyand really use it wisely and and
(35:19):
definitely provide an amazingservice for veterans.
So, ryan, as we kind of wrap up, what's the one thing you want
to leave our listeners with thatthey should know about clear
path for veterans?
Ryan Woodruff (35:35):
well, I would say you back to what I've been
saying, less about Clear Pathand more about our
responsibility as a community.
200,000 plus veterans areleaving the service every year,
and it is we owe it to them topay back for their service, to
welcome them home and to providean environment where they can
(35:58):
be as successful as theypossibly can be, help them
realize their potential.
There is no one.
I think it's really importantthat we continue to collaborate
as a community of providers andwe're not trying to duplicate
services that other people aredoing well.
We're just trying to meet theneed and fill gaps.
(36:19):
If you're out there and you'reproviding a unique service and
you want to connect withClearPath so that we can add you
to our partner list, we'd loveto do that and just keep being a
community that cares.
So thank you.
Larry Zilliox (36:32):
Yeah Well, I really love what you say about
welcoming them home, becausethat's our motto here.
We have a huge sign at theentrance to the driveway and it
says welcome home.
We don't say thank you for yourservice and we're excited to
explore a partnership with you.
All you know we're a gooddistance apart, but we're always
(36:57):
looking for resources to helpinquiries and veterans that need
help and service anywhere inthe country, and it's just been
great having you on today.
I really appreciate it.
Ryan Woodruff (37:11):
Thank you, larry, likewise Appreciate it.
Larry Zilliox (37:13):
Well for our listeners, we'll have another
episode next Monday morning at0500.
If you like to get up early andlisten to podcasts, you can
find us on all the podcastplatforms.
We're also on YouTube andWreaths Across America Radio.
So until the next time, thanksfor listening.
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