My 13 year old daughters essay 💙💙💙

Veterans and the Dogs Who Stand Beside Them

Veterans are people who have made sacrifices to serve and protect our country. They leave their families, homes, and everyday lives to serve in the United States military. Some veterans come home with injuries that we can see, while others come home with invisible wounds such as PTSD, anxiety, nightmares, and memories from things they experienced while serving. I believe veterans deserve our respect, gratitude, and support long after they come home.

My mom is a professional Dutch Shepherd breeder and trainer, and through her program, Our Shepherds Shepherds (OSS), she has had the privilege of working with many United States veterans. Many of the people who own her Dutch Shepherds are veterans. These dogs are not just family pets for them. They become trusted partners, companions, and working dogs.

Dutch Shepherds are intelligent, loyal, athletic, and very aware of their surroundings. Because of these qualities, they can be excellent working dogs when they are properly trained and matched with the right person. My mom believes that the bond between a veteran and a well-trained dog can be very powerful.

Seeing how many veterans are part of the OSS family inspired my mom to begin creating a nonprofit organization called OSS Valor Buddies. The goal of OSS Valor Buddies is to help military veterans, especially combat veterans, who truly need PTSD service dogs and trained companions. The organization may also help a small number of first responders who have experienced serious trauma while serving their communities.

A PTSD service dog can be trained to perform specific tasks that help its handler. Depending on the person’s needs and the dog’s training, a service dog may provide grounding, interrupt certain behaviors, help create space in stressful situations, or wake its handler during a nightmare. A dog can also provide companionship and a feeling of safety when someone is struggling with anxiety or PTSD symptoms.

One thing that makes this program special to me is the idea of a dog watching its veteran’s six. Veterans spend their service watching out for other people. They protect their teammates and make sure everyone gets home safely. OSS Valor Buddies is about giving some of those veterans a loyal partner who can now help watch over them.

A service dog cannot erase what happened to a veteran or completely cure PTSD. However, the right dog can become part of a veteran’s support system and help them feel less alone. The relationship between a handler and a service dog takes trust, training, patience, and commitment. It is a partnership where both the person and the dog learn to depend on each other.

I am proud that my mom wants to use her experience with Dutch Shepherds to give back to people who have sacrificed for our country. Through OSS, she has already built relationships with many veterans who own her dogs. Through OSS Valor Buddies, she hopes to take that mission even further.

Veterans should never feel like their service is forgotten once they return home. They deserve to know that people appreciate what they have done and that there are people willing to stand beside them.

My mom often says that working dogs are there to watch their handler’s six. To me, OSS Valor Buddies represents something even bigger: the people who once watched our backs deserve someone to watch theirs.

That is one way I believe we can honor our veterans—not just by thanking them for their service, but by being willing to serve them when they come home.

“They watched our backs. Now we watch theirs.” 🐾🇺🇸