Chris Kreiger served in the US Army for ten years, deployed to Bosnia and Iraq and serving at NYC’s Ground Zero. When he returned home in April 2004, he had so many medical and trauma setbacks. He spent time in the hospital dealing with epilepsy from his traumatic brain injury as well as surgery on his right foot that was crushed in a Humvee accident. He also required spinal cord surgery and weeks of treatment at the polyoma brain center in Richmond, Virginia.
When he finally returned to New York and filed for the VA benefits he was promised until he recovered and got back on his feet, Chris was disappointed to learn the benefits were dreadfully insufficient and unsatisfactory. His family lost everything they worked so hard for as Chris recovered. They lost their home, they drained checking and savings accounts, and borrowed from friends and family until no one could help any more. He turned to the VFW and American Legion with no luck. Other resources refused to help him because his was a military issue, so he was stuck.
Believing no veteran should struggle financially when they return from serving their country, especially when expensive medical issues are caused by said service, Kreiger was determined to form WNY Heroes in 2007, a crucial lifeline to veterans’ financial security. No one, not even the VA, offered the services and programs WNY Heroes does: financial support but also Peer-to-Peer support programs including monthly dinners, breakfast, and outings, to socialize with other veterans and their families.
Through all their programs, WNY Heroes aims to help veterans and their families financially and emotionally when the heroes return home. As Kreiger says, “We want that Veteran to concentrate on his/her mental health and reunite with their family. Allow us to handle the rest for you.” Each year, WNY Heroes provides hundreds of thousands of dollars toward veterans’ rent/mortgage, utilities, food, and the peer-to-peer support programs, as well as the Pawsitive for Heroes service dog training and support program.
WNY Heroes launched Pawsitive for Heroes in 2013, providing service dogs to Veterans in medical need and those medically-referred through VA hospitals. Kreiger says the program has drawn so much attention it went national last year. To date, WNY Heroes has paired 200 service dogs with Veterans. Kreiger says, “We name our dogs after those who served and passed away, a small way for us to keep remembering those who served.”
WNY Heroes partners with county and NYS correctional facilities to train dogs. Service dogs spend ten months in the facilities training with inmates and Kreiger and other trainers. Then, dogs are paired with veterans, and those pairs train for another 6-8 months in WNY Heroes’ facility so the handlers can learn voice commands, hand signals, public access training, restaurant etiquette, laws, etc. After that, the dog can go anywhere the handler, the Veteran, goes.
Kreiger says, “A service dog is meant for a single individual’s need or purpose. The dog can’t be touched by everybody and anybody. The dog must listen directly to the handler. It can only be touched by the handler. There’s a huge difference between Companion, Emotional Support, Therapy, and Service Dogs. When they put on their vests, a service dog is working. It’s all business. When the vest comes off, they go right back to being normal house dogs.”
If you see a service dog with its vest on, please remember the dog is working. Do not approach the dog, try to pet them, whistle for them, blow kisses, or call out. Please do not acknowledge them at all. They have a job to do, and a distraction could harm them & their handler.
As you wouldn’t ask a person in a wheelchair what ailment they have, do not ask a stranger what their issues are or why they need a service dog.
WNY Heroes and its Pawsitive for Heroes program make a marked difference in Veterans’ lives. Kreiger says they are thankful for their amazing donors and volunteers, but the need is always greater. If you’d like to donate, volunteer, or learn more go to pawsitiveforheroes.org.
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