Today we’d like to introduce you to Torre Willadsen

Hi Torre , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

The idea came to me when I was deployed as a civilian contractor working with military dogs in 2012. With the 7th Marines, I developed close bonds with both dogs and dog handlers.

When one of my handlers (Chris Van Etten) was wounded,
I worked hard to help keep Chris and his dog, Harley, together during his recovery. I saw firsthand the profound effect an emotional support dog could have on a wounded man’s frame of mind during a difficult time.

I knew I wanted to bring that kind of unconditional support to those back home struggling with their mental health.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

It’s been a journey for sure. Most of the struggles were seeing veterans taking there own lives.
I wasn’t quit in the position we are today.
We have come a long way since 2016 when we finely received our 501.c3.
After that it was just working hard and proving we were here to stay.
It’s a catch 22 no matter how worthy the mission is, starting you need funding to get going.
Most donors want proof of stable and sustainable environment and success. That’s hard, you need the funds but people can be reluctant to donate until it’s a proven platform of years of success. That was a tremendous amount of stress.
Getting to a position to show the work and the time was growing and serving it’s purpose.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

We serve the veterans community.
We provide an option for a veteran and his or her family members to achieve their best lifestyle and home environment.
We train, and places dogs with deserving service members who have been diagnosed with post-combat stress and anxiety. The purpose is to provide the veteran with a free, trained dog that can help them cope with their unique challenges in everyday life.

I’ve seen the difficulties first hand our service men and women face when returning to civilian life, I know far too many who have tragically contributed to the high rate of veteran suicides. We are committed to standing by our veterans and making them aware that we care.

It is our mission to help the men and women who have sacrificed so much to defend our country and its citizens.
I’m pretty proud that we can help make a difference.

What does success mean to you?

Every life saved.

Pricing:

• Free to all combat Veterans or Veterans suffering from Military Sexual Trauma.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dogs2dogtags.org/
• Instagram: @dogs2dogtags
• Facebook: Dogs2dogtags
• Twitter: Dogs2dogtags
• Youtube: Dogs2dogtags

Image Credits

Credits to Dogs2DogTags Inc,