- Local kennel steps up to keep pets while vets receive emergency care.
- Supporting organizations hope to expand the effort statewide.
- See inside inaugural boarding resort Jacks B Quick in the video above
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Jacks B Quick kennel in Crawfordville has a new initiative to help veterans with dogs.
Oftentimes the person standing closest to our veterans isn't a person at all, but a loyal companion on four-legs who's been with them through thick and thin. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 1.7 million veterans received treatment in a mental health specialty program in 2018. That's care that could unexpectedly separate them from their pet for days on end.
Jacks B Quick boarding resort owner Travis Hallman says he understands how deep the bond between vet and dog can be. "One of the real facts is, a dog is their best friend, and keeps them grounded to where they function in society," Hallman said. "So to have to deal with something, whatever the case, a surgery or some mental health or whatever, and then to find out your best friend is gone, and you're not getting it back, a lot of them check out."
Hallman says, while vets receive the care they need, their pets are usually taken and often euthanized. He's now working with Tina Reason, founder of Sacred Soil for Veterans, to create a first of its kind, free kennel service for veteran companions. "So we want to actually prevent this from happening," Reason said. "We want to remove an excuse for not getting self care. We will come and be part of the response team. We don't want a dog that is a companion or an actual service animal euthanized."
Hallman and employees at Jacks B Quick are proud to be among the first to offer this service locally right now, and they look forward to expanding it across the state. "It's something new," he says. "We're going to try to get it going here, get it perfected. ... I think it's something that can go countrywide."
While Jacks B Quick will currently accept dogs from vets in need, the two organizations are currently working with state legislators to pass a veteran pet protection bill and receive supporting funding.
