To The Rescue with Morgan Fogarty

📩From the inbox:

Amanda writes:

"Hi Morgan,

I’m reaching out with a story that’s both timely and deeply meaningful - one that speaks to the heart of why May is Mental Health Awareness Month and why it matters, and also how we can make a life-changing difference for those who’ve sacrificed so much: our veterans and first responders.

Just a few weeks ago, a 3-year-old German Shepherd named Hans sat on the euthanasia list at an overcrowded rural shelter in South Carolina. His story could have ended there - but instead, it’s just beginning. Thanks to Stephanie's Shepherds Rescue, Rehab and Training, 501C3, he was given a second chance and brought to a foster home in Gastonia, North Carolina while awaiting transport to the rescue’s base in New York.

That foster home is mine. I’m Amanda, and from the moment that Hans arrived, something in me said this wasn’t just another foster. Hans had a quiet strength, a presence that felt like purpose. I couldn’t ignore the feeling that he was meant for something more.

I shared his photo with Matt, a trainer at K9 Responder Academy, a first responder veteran-founded organization in Charlotte, NC. Their mission is extraordinary: training dogs - often rescued themselves - to become service and therapy animals for veterans and first responders living with PTSD and trauma.

Matt, a military veteran, knows that kind of pain all too well. After silently battling undiagnosed PTSD for 15 years, he came dangerously close to giving up - just three years ago. It was a service dog from this very program that helped him find a reason to stay. He carries that moment with him always, marked permanently by a tattoo that reminds him why he chose to keep going. And now, he’s made it his life’s work to help others do the same.

When Matt met Hans, he saw the same spark I did. So did the entire K9 Responder Academy team - made up of fellow veterans and former first responders, each partnered with their own service dogs. They saw something extraordinary in Hans.

After evaluating him, they confirmed what I had only hoped: Hans is a perfect candidate to become a service dog - a lifeline for a veteran who’s still fighting a silent war inside.

The Academy recently launched the K9 Responder Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to training shelter dogs to become life-saving service companions for first responders and veterans living with PTSD and trauma. They are also training and donating therapy dogs for police and fire departments around North Carolina, especially Western North Carolina.

This month, the Foundation opened applications for first responders and veterans to apply for a service dog - but only for a limited time (30 days). Meanwhile, Hans is waiting to start his training. The only thing standing in the way? The $6,000 needed to fund his full service-dog training.

We would love your help sharing this powerful story - not just to raise the remaining funds, but to raise awareness about the life-saving role service dogs play in mental health, and the veterans and first responders who are still fighting silent battles every day."

OF COURSE I want to help sharing this story!

I am putting the GoFundMe link to support Hans' training in the comments.

If you can donate, THANK YOU. If you can share this story, THANK YOU!