From the Director's Desk
Lani Rethaber, Executive Director
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Happy New Year!
First off, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of Patriot K9s of Wisconsin throughout the past years. We are fortunate to have the local support we have. I am always humbled by how many people, businesses and organizations support and continue to support our mission. Thank you!
In December we had our last two classes graduate for 2023 bringing our total graduates to 93. Last year we had a record of 25 teams graduate. The preceding record was 22 in one year. We hope to keep breaking records as we move forward.
We have also added a few new staff since the last newsletter, and I would like to officially welcome them on board. Terese Barta is our Paws 4 Patriots Program Manager at Redgranite Correctional Institution. Sean Dumais is a new part-time Service Dog trainer. Susie Arnold has come onboard as our Business Manager. Sarah Kasper is in a dual role position as a Veteran Coordinator and Service Dog trainer. Welcome!
We look forward to the new year with several large projects we are working on. One is the Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program (WWSDP) where we are one of 24 organizations nationwide who are incorporating, testing and evaluating benchmarks designed to better the Veteran Service Dog industry. Our evaluations of the benchmarks are reported on and collected to better understand and hopefully set a standard for the industry. We are proud to be a part of this evaluation process for the WWSDP.
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Patriot K9s staff, graduates, and their family and friends celebrated the graduation of its 23-4 and 23-5 classes on Saturday, December 10, 2023. Veteran-K9 Teams from classes 23-4 and 23-5 who graduated in December were:
Joseph & Emma
Dave & Remy
Debra & Jill
Richard & Nikita
Patrick & Navey
Evelyn & Titan
Leah & Harley
Ronda & Whiskey
James & Hopper
Cari & Jericho
Heather & Pepper
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Also recognized were the following teams who will be completing their service dog training soon:
Hunter & Freedom
Elissa & Rocco
Gunner & Kino
Congratulations to all!
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Sarah Kasper has joined the Patriot K9 team as veteran coordinator and trainer. Her position is multi-faceted, with important roles in onboarding of veterans, helping with classes, community outreach, and general office tasks.
Sarah has training experience in obedience, tricks, and service dog work. Her entry into the world of dog training first began with training her own pets at home. Realizing the benefits of spending time with her dogs also led to work as a professional groomer, which she loves.
Sarah has two dogs at home. Amara is a bully mix and a spoiled princess. As an older dog, her hobbies include snuggles, belly scratches, and naps in the chair or in front of the fireplace. Black lab Brecken is her husband’s retired service dog. Since his retirement, he has spent more time enjoying his favorite things, such as eating, car rides, swimming, and chasing the ball.
Sarah's husband and his service dog opened her eyes to how much dogs can change lives. She values being a part of Patriot K9s mission because, in her words, “the opportunity to help veterans in the community is one of the most rewarding things I could possibly do with my time.”
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Donations we receive help to cover the costs associated with placing a qualified Veteran with their Service Dog. These costs are substantial and include: finding and raising quality puppies, veterinary expenses, food, supplies, and the training of both canine and Veteran.
We are blown away by the generosity of our donors.
December 2023
Dorothy B.
Hydie L.
Kristen S.
Old Republic Surety Company
Mark and Mary Peterson Family Foundation, Inc.
Mark W.
Almond Rod & Gun Club
Jo L.
Joshua and April W.
BetterLife Lodge Rip#144 – Mosinee
Connexus Credit Union
Roy M.
Regina P.
Christi T.
Sonnentag Foundation LTD
Lee and Kathleen S.
Barbara Z.
Paula B.
Chris and Terry W.
Sonja P.
Chris and Terry W.
Sharon and Raymond H.
BSA Troop 458
Steve and Judy N.
Becky L.
Ann O.
Diane R.
Marybeth M.
Robert R.
PayPal Giving Fund
Domtar Paper Company LLC
Anjalika M.
Larry H.
Anita & Keith W.
Robert R.
Eileen O.
Travis M.
Trudi S.
BP
Amanda L.
Remedy Consulting LLC
Network for Good
Heather P.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
James H.
Chris C.
Margaret B.
Beatrice L.
Carol T.
January 2024 (to date)
Thrivent Financial
Kelly Mullins
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January 20, 2024
First Annual "Through a New Lens" Community Mental Health Awareness Event
Central Wisconsin Convention and Expo Center, 11 am-4 pm
Free to the public
March 13, 2024
Veterans Outreach Event
Whistle Stop Menominee
More info to come
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Fun Ways to Beat Cabin Fever with our Dogs |
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Feeling the winter blues? Maybe getting cabin fever? Our dogs, too, can get bored when it gets too cold to play outside or go for walks. Boredom can lead to problem behaviors like barking and inappropriate chewing. Here are a few ideas to keep your dog entertained indoors during the long cold winter.
Stuff a Kong toy. Make your Kong more interesting by adding some peanut butter and a few biscuits or kibble. Canned pumpkin and Greek yogurt make for other tasty fillers and are good for digestion. Another idea is to put canned food and kibble in the kong and freeze it. Just be careful about adding too many extra calories because it's easy for a dog to gain weight in winter. You could put the dog’s meal in a Kong and seal it with peanut butter, to make them work a little harder for their breakfast or dinner.
Play Hide-n-Seek. This game doesn't require any special equipment. Put
your dog in a stay (or have someone hold them) and hide somewhere. Then call your dog.
Play nosework games. Hide your dog's favorite toy and let them find it. You can also teach your dog to fetch the toy that has your scent on it. Rub your hands on a toy and place it in the floor with a few other toys. Reward your dog when they pick the one that has your "hot" scent on it. Using their nose to find things is great for stimulating their brain.
Work on obedience or retrieving skills. Teach your dog some tricks. For example, teaching roll-over is great for their core muscles. If you have a service dog, teach them something useful to you. Training a dog new things can tire out a dog just as much as physical exercise.
Take your dog for an indoor swim. Find the nearest indoor doggy pool or doggie day-care that has a pool.This is not only fun but it gets your dog some exercise too.
Try some indoor exercise routines that work your dog's body and brain. There are exercises that can build flexibility, core strength, and balance. Some foundational exercises can be found here on the AKC website. Also strengthen your dog's core muscles by having them stand while you lift one paw off the ground for 5 to 10 seconds. Rotate different legs. This is great for teaching spatial awareness to puppies. Also, teach your dog to walk backwards. Another great core exercise is the sit with their front feet off the ground ("sit and beg position"). Lots of dog core strength exercises can be found on YouTube). Keep in mind it's best to exercise core muscles every other day to allow recovery time.
Instead of grumbling about being cooped up inside, we can use the cold weather as an opportunity to strengthen the bond between us and our dogs.
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Veterans Who Join the Civil Service Are Eligible
for Valuable Service Credits
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Information from Military.com, shared by Vic Viljevac:
Veterans who serve on active duty and later take a position with the federal civil service, have the opportunity to apply military service toward the civil service's Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). There is also the opportunity to "buy back" military service to further increase benefits.
Each year of military service bought back as a military service credit counts as a year toward the FERS pension. This provides several major benefits. Military service credits increase the creditable years of service under FERS, increases the retirement pension, and increases seniority and the rate at which leave is accrues.
While this may not not be a great option for most active-duty retirees, as it will prevent veterans from receiving military retirement pay, this is almost always a great option for those who are not retired from active duty.
Buying military service credits is a straightforward process. Military service credits are purchased at a rate of 3% of the pay received while on active duty (with the exception of 1999 and 2000, which are slightly higher). Each year of military service you bought will be worth one year of civilian service under FERS. And remember, one can still use this time toward retirement from the Guard or Reserves. GubMints.com has a comprehensive guide to buying back your service credits. You can also listen to a podcast about this topic on The Military Wallet. The article and podcast give a much more detailed analysis of how the buyback process works, as well as some real-world applications.
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Milo's IMHA Helping Paws Fund |
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Patriot K9s continues to raise funds for Milo's Helping Paws Fund. Milo was a June graduate from Patriot K9s who died unexpectedly from Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in July, 2023. The funds raised in Milo's honor will not only help his handler Brad pay the high veterinary medical costs incurred when Milo became ill, but it will also help other veterans facing unexpected emergency veterinary costs. Your help is appreciated. |
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Lani Ratheber – Executive Director
Catie Dodson – Program Training Manager
Sean Dumais – Service Dog Trainer
Sarah Kasper – Trainer/Veteran Coordinator
Terese Barta – Paws4Patriots Training Manager
Vic Viljevac – Veteran Liaison
Susan Arnold – Business Manager
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Gillian Waukau – President
Gary Bezucha – Vice President
Robert Kittel – Treasurer
Diane Durante – Secretary
Mimi Rethaber
David Holcomb
Ivan Mitchel
Kelly Dahlke
Eli Alsteen
Wendy Nelson
Meghan Bozinski
Brandon Cacek
Cassandra Powell
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Patriot K9s of Wisconsin
7333 West Stewart Avenue, Wausau, WI 54401
(715) 298-1373
Instagram: @patriotk9sofwisconsin
Patriot K9s of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that trains veterans and their dogs for service work in post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and military sexual trauma (MST).
Our mission: At no cost to qualified Veterans, we educate and train Psychiatric Service Dog Teams to have a fulfilling and meaningful life in the community of their choice.
Crisis line: 988
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Newsletter editor: Terese Barta |
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