By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Last week, several dozen people gathered at the Northfield Golf Club for a fundraiser to support Believet Canine Services. The event offered several opportunities to donate and learn more about the organization. Founded by Sam Daly, Believet helps support veterans by providing them with a service dog for free. Daly, who had previously worked training explosive detection dogs in the Marine Corps, shared that the reason for starting the company was clear:
“Minnesota loses two veterans a week to suicide and so that’s about 100 per year just in Minnesota.” – Sam Daly, Founder of Believet, KYMN News Interview
Daly noted the uniqueness of his organization, that it was entirely donor-funded:
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“So obviously, we provide these dogs free of charge. We are not funded by any insurance or the VA; we totally do this on events like our golf tournament today. And so we are, you know, we’re very appreciative of our supporters.” – Sam Daly, Founder of Believet, KYMN News Interview
Picture By Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture By Logan Wells/KYMN News
Head Trainer of Believet’s dog, Justin Ivers, noted that it takes a significant amount of time, almost a year, to train them; however, when they are ready, there are several skills they have:
“The most asked for skill is nightmare interruption, so a lot of our veterans come home and they have these vivid, traumatic nightmares and sometimes a lot of times their spouse or, you know, whoever they’re living with is afraid to go wake them up because they can be violent. So we teach our dogs. And pull the blankets off the bed and turn on the light switch to help wake that veteran up from that nightmare.” – Justin Ivers, Head Trainer of Believet Dogs, KYMN News Interview
He noted that even the presence of the dog can lower a veteran’s anxiety level, helping them sleep.
“We also teach pressure therapy, so under stress anxiety, high blood pressure. Any of those kind of symptoms we teach the dog to come up to the veteran and rest their head on the lap for pressure therapy. The warmth of the dog, the soothing nature of petting the dog is a very calming behavior.” – Justin Ivers, Head Trainer of Believet Dogs, KYMN News Interview
However, it isn’t just assisting with anxiety, Ivers says that they can also train their dogs to assist older veterans:
“Some of our older veterans, maybe Vietnam Veterans, with many knee surgeries or back surgeries, they’ll need some fetching skills, so fetching their car keys, their wallet, whatever they drop, as well as. Any objects that the dog will need to fetch, we can teach them.” – Justin Ivers, Head Trainer of Believet Dogs, KYMN News Interview
Overall, with three full-time trainers, Believet has the capacity to train about 13 to 14 dogs a year. Though much of the work doesn’t just happen with the trainers, but also with the many volunteers who help the organization run. Tudy Fowler, President of Believet’s Board of Directors, noted that volunteers help raise funds, staff events, and raise the dogs early on. The work of the volunteers, Fowler said, allows the organization to:
“We provide the dogs free of charge. We need donations, so we need people to come be a part of our organization as volunteers, so that we can continue to do what we do. One Dog, one veteran at a time.” – Tudy Fowler, Board President of Believet, KYMN News Interview
On Believets’ website, https://believet.org/, under the “our needs” tab, you can see what different donation amounts cover, with the average dog costing approximately $42,000 to train, feed, and care for. Daly noted that the organization is not funded by insurance or the Department of Veterans Affairs, receiving its funds from donations.
Another type of volunteer that Believet needs is puppy foster parents. These volunteers care for a young puppy, providing basic training as it grows up. Additionally, the organization needs weekend fosters to take care of the dogs in training. You can learn more about foster opportunities on Believets website under the “Foster” tab.
Daly shared that while Believet is small, he is proud of the work they do:
“And so we are dropping the bucket when it comes to that, but certainly we’re all very proud of the, you know, the size and scope of our of our mission and the veterans that we.” – Sam Daly, Founder of Believet, KYMN News Interview
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