Inexperienced Lake’s American Legion Auxiliary donated funds final week to a Wisconsin-based group that helps veterans’ psychological well being by offering them with a canine companion.

Dogs2DogTags Founder and President Torre Willadsen and Director of Veteran Outreach Nancy Rivera obtained a $2,000 examine from the Inexperienced Lake American Legion Auxiliary final week Wednesday.

Willadsen was a civilian contractor working with navy canine in 2012 when he was deployed to Afghanistan with the seventh Marines.

Throughout that point, he developed bonds with canine and canine handlers. When dog-handler Chris Van Etten was wounded, Willadsen labored tirelessly to maintain Van Etten and his canine, Harley, collectively throughout Van Etten’s restoration.

This confirmed him the influence a canine can have on somebody’s mindset throughout a time of want, which is how he developed the concept for Dogs2DogTags.

“I simply noticed after I was there, what the canine did for the fellows so far as morale,” Willadsen mentioned. “Then after I received residence, as a consequence of an over variety of suicides in my battalion that I used to be with as a civilian contractor, I made a decision that I needed to rescue canine and provides them to veterans totally free for suicide prevention.”

Dogs2DogTags obtained its nonprofit standing in 2016 and has paired 33 canine with veterans, in addition to created a fund to assist present veterans with cash for veterinarian companies and meals for his or her canine.

The Inexperienced Lake American Legion Auxiliary met Dogs2DogTags at a convention this previous spring, by which Dogs2DogTags had been invited as visitor audio system to inform veterans teams about their mission.

The Auxiliary felt that the mission of Dogs2DogTags aligned with its personal.

“Our mission because the American Legion Auxiliary is to help the veteran. Whether or not it’s the present veteran, a previous veteran, a veteran simply first popping out of the navy, it doesn’t make any distinction,” Auxiliary Treasurer Patti Westpfahl mentioned. “At our assembly this final month, I mentioned I believed it will be very good if we supported this group as a result of they’re doing our mission. They’re supporting our veterans.”

Westpfahl added that the funds donated got here from the American Legion pancake breakfasts and different donations collected all year long.

“We honor our deceased veterans in some ways, so I felt it was simply essential that we proceed to help and honor our present veterans which might be nonetheless right here with us and have the ability to make their lives extra fulfilling,” she mentioned. “I believed this was place to ship the cash.”