TAILS OF VALOR PAWS OF HONOR PROGRAM INC

TOV’s Canine Connections is open to veterans from the community seeking to improve their quality of life by experiencing the warmth and patience of a non-judgmental partner. Our canines can enhance a therapeutic environment which will reduce friction caused when experiencing social activities, thus leading to increased communication and focus. Our staff provides support needed for positive physical and mental health social interactions during training sessions with our canines, all of who are named in honor of a fallen soldier.
Each particular activity, command or exercise, taught to the canine during their journey of 16-24 months of training, correlates to symptoms, known or unknown, to the participant. All our dogs learn more than 100 exposures of everyday living, over 30 commands and tasks that are specific to their Veteran. Upon completion of their training (1,500-2,000 hours), these fully-trained ADA guideline service dogs are given at no cost to a Veteran.

In 2021 Tails of Valor® developed a new community outreach program to incorporate further outreach of our service provided for our Veterans by embracing collaborative efforts utilizing our animal assisted therapy programs. Journey with a Purpose™ is a therapy program designed to touch countless lives through motivational enhancement, inspirational routines and unconditional positive support. By adding more healthcare facilities interested in embracing our non-medicinal approach to therapy we will be able to expand the education of our services.
This new program will be able to provide several levels of exercises for all that participate. AAA (animal assisted activities) will provide enjoyment with stress mitigation from medical conditions or procedures and help to divert depression or anxiety with social interactions and AAT (animal assisted therapies) will provide relief from compassion fatigue, social support, self regulation and physical stimulants. Both exercises will focus on providing a positive physical and mental health interaction. The opportunities to expand our services are endless and will be life supporting for the human and the canine and can be offered as an adjunct to a clinician’s health plan.


The following video provides an intimate view into the work we do:
https://vimeo.com/393009825/063fd078eb?fbclid=IwAR3o2sJG8ep6lGyzqWlczcoW7mD_S2o3G2T4x60I7_gd903439pr-IPVcGo

Dedicated TOV staff and volunteers bring tremendous experience to our mission.
* TOV Founder and entrepreneur, Heather Lloyd, has an extensive background with 10 years in the medical field and over 27 years working with animals.
* Professional licensed administrative support has been strengthened to bring attention to our mission.
* More than 50 active volunteers provide assistance with training, fundraising and education events. Puppy sitting and puppy raisers also provide loving interactions with our pups as they experience the home-life and daily exposures.
* A strong TOV Board supports our mission with diverse backgrounds in veterinary care, the armed services, marketing, and fundraising.

Since TOV inception:
* Successful graduation/pairing of 40 service dogs with Veterans suffering from PTSD or TBI. These Veterans participated in our year long rehabilitation program learning a better quality of life, living with a service dog.
* Formal recognition and integration of TOV Canine Connections animal-assisted therapy at the Philadelphia, Coatesville, and Lebanon, PA VAs--the FIRST service dog organization to work in the VA Medical Centers in PA.
* Co-authored "Guidelines of TOV Animal Assisted Therapy" protocol with Coatesville behavioral team, and will be contributing to the research/study of the efficacy of AAT for Veterans with PTSD.
* TOV has touched more than 7,000 between our collaborative effort partnerships with healthcare and educational facilities including the expansion of our training campus and adding our professional offices .
*Referred by social workers and mental health professionals.
* Established a clinical education affiliation with Moravian College's School of Nursing, Mercy School for special learning, adult aging facilities and more...
* Offering free osteopathic medicines for our Veterans
*Launching our first animal therapy program with Mercy School for Special Learning - working with children with special needs