Green Bay Packers and Fleet Farm honor veterans and active service personnel with their annual Salute To Service campaign that takes place in November.
Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers’ running back, was there to officially open the event and to honor several distinguished guests who have supported injured soldiers.
Aaron Jones, who has been the Packers’ representative for the entire month-long campaign, adds, “It’s just a blessing. I feel like it’s coming full circle and I’m honored.”
“I’m meant for this. I’ve been groomed for this. My parents were military and I was raised in a military family. My brother is currently in the Air Force. I just know kind of firsthand what the sacrifices military families make the hardships that they go through,” Jones says.
Joshua Zenner, a former Master Sergeant in Army National Guard is well-acquainted with the hardships.
According to Zenner, “I had been going through some struggles getting help with therapy and counseling and groups and stuff, and I wanted to try something else.”
After 20 years of service, Zenner retired from the Army National Guard.
He suddenly realized he required assistance.
“Before, I was always stressing with anxiety no matter what the situation, good or bad I was just always stressing out with it.”
Zenner contacted Patriot K9s of Wisconsin as the Packers Salute to Service partner for this season.
Patriot K9’s of Wisconsin executive director Lani Rethaber states, “We are a small organization still however, we do have a good impact on central Wisconsin.”
Non-profit training and education are offered to help veterans and applicants for service dogs with post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PDSD), depression and anxiety, as well as other mental health problems.
“We don’t just hand them a dog and say, ‘see you later.’ We bring them all into the fold. We are a whole family. We are a unit. It’s like being back into the military. We take care of each other,” she says.
“We do provide psychiatric service dogs for disabled veterans for free. We are a nonprofit organization. Long-term, our veterans are part of the family. So after they graduate from our program doesn’t mean they are gone. We continue to follow up with them until the end of their service dog’s lifespan.
According to Joshua Zenner, who was matched with his service dog, Riggs, “What’s so great about this program is that it’s the handler and the dog. They’re not training the dog to give to the veteran. It is 100% the student with the dog.” The two finished the training course designed to assist Zenner to manage his anxieties.
“The sense of accomplishment by completing the program was something I haven’t had in a long, long time,” Zenner says.
Having Riggs with me just gives me something else to focus on even though he’s focusing on me, watching over me. Just having to take care of a dog takes your mind off so many other issues or problems,” he continues.
Zenner advises any veteran with mental health issues to reach out to Zenner so they can determine if the Patriot K9s of Wisconsin program suits them.
“Just get in the program, get started with it, even if you don’t have a dog yet, even if they don’t have a dog to give you if you don’t have your own, go to the program and just watch it and you have other veterans there going through the same problem,” says Zenner
“The classmates that I graduated with and their dogs, I mean they were family. I just say if you are having an issue don’t hesitate, just call.”
For $10, you can purchase a limited-edition Salute to Service t-shirt at the Packers Pro Shop if your support the Packers Salute to Service program. Half of the proceeds will be donated to Patriot K9s Wisconsin.
Source: 26 Northeast Wisconsin
