You get a unique nonprofit called Hero Pups.
(upbeat music)
- Hero Pups takes shelter and rescue dogs and we then
train them to become support dogs
for our veterans and first responders.
The inmate participants, they volunteer to train the dogs
with the basic obedience.
We're in New Hampshire to meet Laura Barker,
a longtime dog trainer who started it all.
- Good!
Easy, good job.
The idea of Hero Pups came when my son was injured
in Afghanistan and I was in a military hospital.
I was able to see a therapy dog
help another wounded warrior.
He was engaging.
He wanted to go to his physical therapy.
He wasn't just focused on the negative.
He was focused on the dog.
He was smiling.
That was my aha moment.
I realized I could use my background doing rescue
and working dogs to be able to help others.
- Alright.
Hey, hey, pup, how's it going?
- [Derek] I went into the military right after 9/11.
Went active, did a tour in Iraq.
That's where I was injured.
- [Michael] We went to meet a veteran named Derek Defelice,
who's that impact unfold in his life firsthand
when he was paired with his Hero Pup named Nala.
- Had PTSD, which is pretty rough on anybody.
Found myself not wanting to go into stores,
not wanting to go out to eat.
Basically turning into a loner.
Now I have somebody that's there for me at all times.
I have somebody that's gonna guide me in the right way.
- [Laura] The dog doesn't care what you did.
It doesn't care about what your backstory is.
It cares about right now.
How are you feeling right now and how can I make you happy?
That's why dogs are special.
- [Derek] If I get one of those moments where I'm really
just not happy and I'm really irate, you know,
she calms me down immediately.
You know, my wife's got her husband back.
My kids got their father back.
Having the service dog has changed my life now.
Now I'm a totally different person.
- [Laura] Hero Pups was very lucky
and we got a lot of attention very quickly.
- [Michael] As they got more attention,
their waiting list began to grow.
Particularly when it comes to training the dogs,
they just needed more help.
- So we needed to find more people
that could become a puppy raiser.
So we partnered with the Miramack County
Department of Corrections to help the puppies
be trained in their basic obedience.
- If I could do something positive, you know,
not only does it help me, it helps the dog.
It helps the vet.
- We knew that these puppies are gonna have an impact
on anybody.
What we didn't expect, was how much of an impact
it was gonna have the inmate participants.
- It makes me feel really, really good to help people.
I've made my mistakes, but I love seeing people happy.
It's a feeling that I haven't had in a long time.
So, yeah.
It's gonna be sad when we have to give them up,
but that's gonna be the real gratification for me,
the fact that he's gonna go off
and help people in real need.
- Part of the reason we take so much time
to make the correct teams and the teams we really feel
are gonna be a fit is that dog is gonna be
with that hero its entire life.
There's gonna be days that are harder than others
and that dog is gonna be there.
- Everywhere I go, she's by my side.
No matter what I do, no matter where I go.
Ability to do that just brings back before the war.
Before everything changed your life.
It brings everything back.
- [Laura] Being able to use my background doing dog rescue
and training is that I can help somebody else.
These service members, in my opinion,
deserve every opportunity to feel better.
If providing them a rescue dog will do that, I'm all for it.
- Thanks for watching.
One thing that I couldn't wait to ask Laura about
was her last name.
- [Michael] Do people give you a hard time about your name?
- No, not anymore. (laughs)
But yes, I just married right.
I picked the right guy with the right last name.
He was lucky.
(both laugh)