Veterans With Dogs

🐾 Puppy carnage! 🐶💦

On Monday we held one of our Puppy Socialiser Days, bringing together some of our brilliant Puppy Socialisers and Respite Carers at beautiful Anran in Devon.

We were joined by several of our Socialisers (and some of their own dogs), a couple of our pups nearing the end of their socialisation phase, and our three newest recruits; Edison, Lindy and little Sunny, who at just 16 weeks old is currently the baby of the Veterans With Dogs family!

These days are a wonderful opportunity for our pups to play, chase, splash, swim, sniff, tumble, learn and explore the gorgeous grounds at Anran, all valuable experiences as they grow and develop.

They’re just as important for our Socialisers too. It’s a chance to get together, chat, exchange ideas and experiences, talk to our team about training, and enjoy spending time with others who understand exactly what puppy socialising involves; the wonderful bits and the occasional challenging ones!

A huge thank you to our wonderful Puppy Socialisers and Respite Carers for everything you do for our pups.

We are absolutely delighted to share that Saige has now been carefully matched with the veteran who needs her support, and they are beginning the next stage of their journey together.

Saige is two years old and joined us in June from our friends at Guide Dogs UK, when becoming a guide dog wasn’t quite the right path for her. Since then, Saige has been living with one of our brilliant Puppy Socialiser families while our Dog Trainer and Behaviourist, Becky, has been working with them to help Saige develop the skills she needs for her future role as an assistance dog for Veterans With Dogs.

So we are really pleased to have been able to match Saige with her veteran! We look forward to seeing their partnership progress and seeing them on their PALS residentials in the coming months.

Well done, Saige! Your next chapter starts here. 🐾💙

Thank you for having us Canine Partners at your fabulous facility in Loughborough! Great for us at Veterans With Dogs to get together with other members of Assistance Dogs UK to learn about sector standards and changes, and to discuss wider challenges that affect us all.

Last week Veterans With Dogs held our third Partner Animal Life Skills (PALS) Residential Course of 2026 and what a great few days it was!

For our team, there is something incredibly special about watching these partnerships develop through each stage of PALS, as they build their skills, confidence, trust and bond together. We’ve also had the privilege of knowing many of these dogs since they first arrived with us as tiny 10-week-old puppies, watching them progress through socialisation and then seeing them flourish alongside the veterans they have been carefully matched with really is just the best.

PALS is at the very heart of what we do. Our residentials are always busy, intensive and incredibly rewarding, and seeing the partnerships developing together is the best reminder of why we do what we do.

It is also a real testament to those who support our work, whether through regular donations, grants, corporate gifts, fundraising or volunteering... all support leads to this and we cannot thank you enough.

Earlier this month our CEO, Jenny Young, joined ADI - Assistance Dogs International and assistance dog organisations from across the globe in Brussels to mark the 25th anniversary of Assistance Dogs Europe.

The conference was a fantastic opportunity to learn, share experiences, build connections and look at how we can continue to develop the very best standards across the assistance dog sector.

“For Veterans With Dogs, being part of the international Assistance Dog community is something we are extremely proud of, and we're excited to bring the learning, ideas and new connections from Brussels back to our work here in the UK.” - Jenny Young, CEO

Congratulations to Assistance Dogs Europe on 25 years, here's to continuing to learn, collaborate and grow together. 💙🐾

A great meeting between our Chair of Trustees, Sally Williams, and Hounds for Heroes CEO, Kate Phipps-Wiltshire, last week!

Kate and Sally discussed similarities between our two organisations, the respective differences of what we both do, challenges in the sector, and how we could support each other in the future.

Last week our CEO, Jenny Young, gave a talk to the members of Moose Lodge in Yeovil about the work we do at Veterans With Dogs. A great audience who asked great questions about how we train our dogs, what breed we use, how our dogs support their veterans and so on.

Thank you for having us Moose Lodge!

Great to be at the Petersfield Veterans Festival today at the Petersfield Festival Hall! A great initiative developed by East Hampshire District, to bring together military charities to showcase support and services available to local veterans.

Good to connect with Squaddie Box Cic and the local Help For Heroes community fundraiser, John, Petersfield RBL, Liss Royal British Legion Club, and our friends at Hounds for Heroes too.

Thank you to Bordon Army Cadet Force for all your help, chat, and interest in Veterans With Dogs today, you were. Pleasure to be alongside!

And of course thank you to the Petersfield WI for the tea, coffee, cake, and chat!

Fabulous Fundraisers Friday!

My goodness we have some incredible supporters at Veterans With Dogs!

There's Robbie Gee who completed his 11th (of what was meant to be 10 and is now 15!) 10k run last weekend at the East Coast Classic... wearing an inflatable dog costume! "It felt like running with my pants round my ankles!". He's running number 12 this weekend at the Run 10k in Hackney. Help us cheer him on!

Then there is the brilliant Marldon's Wonky Donkey Shanty Group who have raised funds for Veterans With Dogs for several years and they’re still going strong at events in the South West!

And we are absolutely thrilled to have Lisa Garley-Evans join our pack by raising funds by running the Northampton Half Marathon!

We are exhausted just thinking about our incredible fundraisers and their exploits! A huge thank you for all you are doing to help us support veterans through the power of assistance dogs.