Patriot K9s of Wisconsin

Patriot K9s of Wisconsin (PK9s) is a volunteer-supported nonprofit focused on serving veterans impacted by service-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

Our organization exists to provide veterans with the training, education, and support needed to build a successful partnership with a psychiatric service dog. Through this work, we help veterans regain independence, confidence, and a stronger sense of stability in their daily lives.

PK9s operates with a small team and relies heavily on volunteers to help carry out the work required to run our programs. Volunteers are an important part of the structure that allows us to consistently show up for the veterans we serve.

At no cost to qualified Veterans, we educate and train Psychiatric Service Dog Teams to have a fulfilling and meaningful life in the community of their choice.

Veterans are directly involved in training and caring for their service dogs, building the skills needed to maintain a reliable working partnership. Our dogs are purpose-bred and trained with a high level of consistency to ensure they meet the demands of daily life as a service animal.

In addition to training, we provide ongoing guidance and support to help veterans successfully integrate into their communities with their service dog.

Running this type of program involves a wide range of ongoing tasks; everything from dog care and training support to administrative work, events, and outreach. Volunteers help support these efforts in many ways, including office assistance, program support, cleaning, fundraising, marketing, and more specialized skill-based roles.

Because of the level of consistency and quality required in our program, many volunteer positions include onboarding or training. While this means opportunities may be more structured and less frequent than typical drop-in volunteering, it ensures that every role directly contributes to the success of our veterans and their service dogs.

Every task, whether hands-on with dogs or behind the scenes, supports the same outcome: building strong, dependable service dog teams and making sure veterans have the tools and support they need to move forward.