Twenty-something puppies and their handlers filled the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach audience to watch a dress rehearsal. A handful of ears perked during a few loud scenes, but the dogs lay quietly on their mats.
The theater invited Mutts with a Mission to give the actors an audience before opening night and the dogs practice with live entertainment. Mutts with a Mission is a nonprofit that trains dogs to aid veterans and first responders who acquire disabilities on the job. The dogs help them readjust to daily life.
“When they’re done serving, they’re left with these disabilities that make it hard for some of them to leave the house,” said Jo Ofeldt, a longtime puppy raiser. Disabilities such as PTSD, traumatic brain injuries or mobility issues are common, but many wounds are complex, such as hypervigilance, Ofeldt said.
“It’s difficult to be out in public and out in crowds, but it can be equally difficult to come home because it’s hard for them to come back home and worry if someone is in their house.”
The dogs are trained to help in several ways including retrieving dropped items, opening doors, waking up a person having night terrors and searching dark rooms.
Ofeldt shared how a veteran isolated himself in his home, where he was “essentially unable to participate with his family,” including attending his children’s sporting events or school performances.
A service dog allowed the veteran to attend his children’s events, get a job and become active in his church.
“It essentially gave him his life back. And it gave his family their father and their husband back.”
Training includes outings to Old Dominion University sporting events, the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, riding the Norfolk Tide and more than 200 visits to military commands and ships to boost morale. It wouldn’t be possible, Ofeldt said, without volunteers, who house, train and bring puppies to and from obedience classes.
“Their job is to take that dog out into the community to get it well socialized and adjusted to anything it might encounter once it’s placed as a service dog,” Ofeldt said.
The group was founded in 2008 by Brooke and Joe Corson, along with Brooke’s brother Keller Elliot. It has successfully paired over 100 participants with dogs.
The nonprofit is supported by donors, fundraising events and “Mutts Merch” sales such as stuffed pups, T-shirts and water bottles. Training typically takes two to three years and costs as much as $60,000 for each dog, including supplies and veterinary care.
“We are able to do what we do because of the generosity of the people who believe in our mission,” said Ofeldt.
Visit muttswithamission.org for more information.
