Service Peace Warriors is an organization based in the North West designed to train and give free service dogs to US Veterans with PTSD, MST, and other disabilities specifically to honorably discharged veterans. And when we heard that they bought 1,000 lbs of raw pet food from a local pet store, we had to know more.

Backstory

Founder of Service Peace Warriors, Mary has struggled with PTSD since she was a young kid. She understands the impact it has on day-to-day life from the things she has been through. She had a family dog that she slowly started seeing help her through her PTSD and anxiety. Even without proper training her family dog comforted her and provided the support she needed to get through the day.

After realizing the effects of a dog alongside her, she decided to start this nonprofit to help other people who also struggle with this. American Veterans should feel safe going outside and doing normal things, although those that suffer from PTSD, MST, or other service-related disabilities need support to do even the basic things. This is where a trained dog comes into play. When these Veterans are applying for a dog, the dog picks them. This is important so that they can find the right match as well as make sure the dog can provide them with everything they might need.

In 2015 they got their first batch of puppies and by 2017 they were trained and ready to go out to veterans. Since then, they have been able to train and provide 80 service dogs. They are based in the Northwest covering Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

The Team

Their team consists of four hardworking individuals. Mary Mattox is the Founder of Service Peace Warriors as well as a dog trainer. After Mary had a life-saving incident with her family’s German Shepherd puppy she started training it to support her severe PTSD. With over 30 years of dog training experience, she decided to start Service Peace Warriors in 2015.

Chance Mattox is the Co-Founder as well as a dog trainer at Service Peace Warriors. After graduating high school in 2018, Chance decided to dedicate his time to his passion: training dogs. He has since been training service dogs and giving back to veterans under the apprenticeship of Mary Mattox.

Karti St Hilaire is the Operations Director of Service Peace Warriors. She had met Mary when her kids joined Mary’s club learning how to show goats for 4-H. With previous bookkeeping knowledge, she started helping at Service Peace Warriors. As the organization grew, so did her position, she started overseeing day-to-day operations while still maintaining all the bookkeeping and any other position she was needed in.

Randall is the Operation Support Specialist. He makes the non-profit organization run more efficiently. He supports the vision of the organization and strives to continue leveling up Service Peace Warriors to continue providing service dogs to Veterans in need.

Different Dogs

Service Peace Warriors provides service training to all different breeds of dogs. They breed English Cream Retrievers and German Shepherds. They also go to local rescues and take them in to work with them. Since they recognize that each person has different needs, not every breed of dog fits every need. So they work with small and big breeds of all kinds to cater to the needs that walk through their door in search of support.

Food is Fuel

With such a wide array of dogs, they also know that the dogs in training need specific nutritional needs. They need their dogs to perform at their highest ability and go through hours and hours of training. Because of the intense training, they burn a lot of calories. In search of high caloric, bulk, easy to feed, and of course enjoyable food – they found Northwest Naturals Raw Dog Food. They are seeing magnificent results, and the dogs can work the way they need to all day. They ended up buying 200 Chubs from a local pet store, EFC Equipment Feed & Pet in Richland WA to supply their many working dogs the best way possible.