See 11/18/08 video update here.
Pictured above is Golden Gabe with his latest idea of how to help our veterans. He turned 12 last week and is still making such an incredible contribution. Learn more about Paws for Purple Hearts by checking out the wonderful Fall 2007 newsletter from Dr. Bonnie Bergin’s esteemed Assistance Dog Institute.
Building on the time-honored tradition of veterans helping veterans, Paws for Purple Hearts engages servicemen diagnosed with PTSD in a mission to train service dogs as part of their rehabilitative therapy. Training service dogs provides
a way for veterans with PTSD to practice emotional regulation and give their days focus and purpose. The dogs help to facilitate social relationships with members of the community since a critical element of training is properly socializing the puppies and practicing their training skills in public.
Paws for Purple Hearts replaces the brotherhood of the military unit in the field with the brotherhood of shared purpose and caring for their fellow injured soldiers.
Dr. Bonita Bergin invented the concept of the Service Dog to assist people with mobility impairments in 1975. At that time she founded Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), the first nonprofit to train and place Service Dogs. After leaving CCI In 1991, Dr. Bergin founded the Assistance Dog Institute.
Under Dr. Bergin’s leadership, ADI continues to break new ground in “Helping Dogs Help People” – founding the only college offering Master of Science and Associate of Science degrees in dog studies, creating the High School Assistance Dog program for at-risk teens, and researching how to teach dogs to read and how to train pups as young as three weeks.
The Assistance Dog Institute is doing such pivotal research work in the training of assistance dogs. I believe the future of this critical field lies in the new information that is being gleaned through the Institute.
Land of PureGold Foundation 
I would like to know how do I learn to train Golden Retrievers to become Assistance Dogs to Iraq-Afghanistan soldier that have been injured there.
Is the training offered by the Humane Society? If not, where? I had a Golden Retriever for 13 years. She was better than any person; she worked as a Canine Therapy Dog at Children’s Hospital. She died of cancer in February 8th, 2002. I think that I could best help our returning soldiers by helping provide the most precious thing: The unconditional love of an assistance Golden Retriever. Thank you for your reply.
A. Purdy