Veterans and shelter dogs benefit from Indiana Legion gift – WFYI

The Indiana Canine Assistance Network will use a $25,000 gift to provide two Indiana veterans with their own dogs.
The Indiana Canine Assistance Network will use a $25,000 gift to provide two Indiana veterans with their own dogs.
ICAN Vice President of Programs, Sean Diamond, said the highly trained shelter dogs provide tasks for these veterans living with combat-related challenges.
“It’s kind of like they are saving each other. A couple of individuals have told me that,” Diamond said. “They come up together through the training and build that trust and that partnership.”
The financial donation is from the American Legion, Department of Indiana.
The legion’s support follows on the heels of ICAN’s merger with Our Turn to Serve, a nonprofit organization in Fort Wayne that provides service dogs for veterans.
As part of the recent merger, ICAN will adopt Our Turn to Serve’s process of training shelter dogs for veteran placements.
ICAN will review the dog’s health history, age, temperament, and physical traits before accepting the canine to the training program.
In addition to serving veterans, ICAN places service dogs with Hoosiers who need support for mobility, diabetes, autism, and more.
ICAN has 120 active service dog partnerships throughout Indiana — 7 percent of those are partnered with veterans.
Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.
 
 

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