HOULTON, Maine — Ronald Pelletier, a U.S. Army veteran living in Ashland, received a new friend on Thursday at a special ceremony held at Purpose Pups in Houlton.
The ceremony was to mark the start of the “Paws 4 Valor” program, which provides elite service dogs to veterans to assist them with issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Pelletier received his service dog, a 12-week-old Blue Heeler-Catahoula Leopard mixed breed, fittingly named Valor.
He said he had contacted Purpose Pups after seeing a post they had made regarding the program.
“My wife saw a post that one of her coworkers had shared with her,” Pelletier said. “She [her coworker] knows what I go through, so she sent it over to my wife, and my wife sent it to me.”
Pelletier and Valor will now spend a week together alone as part of an early bonding process. After that, Valor will be brought in to Purpose Pups twice a week for the next two years to receive service dog training.
“We’ll be teaching the dog to do what’s called bracing and grounding,” said Tyler Jones, the owner of Purpose Pups. “So the dog will lay on his lap and provide that pressure to alleviate any of those tremors that might be going on.”
Jones said he created the program to provide a reliable service for America’s veterans, as a way to thank them for their service.
“We’re trying to fill a void that is needed as far as having quality service dogs for our veterans,” he said. “We provide what we say we’re going to provide, because a lot of veterans are left with empty promises.”
Jones also credited Nevada Rooney, the woman who donated Valor, for helping start the program. At the Thursday ceremony, Jones, Rooney and other staff witnessed Pelletier’s and Valor’s first meeting, with food and refreshments also served.
