Helping to heal wounded souls...one puppy at a time

For JETC this year, AECOM has partnered with Hero's Puppy for Life (HPFL), a Colorado charitable and 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that matches an eight-week-old puppy with local veterans and emergency first responders who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Together they embark on “relationship bond training”, a program that facilitates an unbreakable bond based on unconditional love and trust and results in their puppy’s graduation to service dog status.

The organization’s founder, Frank Griggs, is an eight-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam and is a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal.  “Having lived my life with PTSD, and wishing no one else to live that way, I challenged the Purple Heart Chapter 1041 of Arvada in 2014 to place a trained service dog with a veteran living with PTSD,” said Frank. “This began the journey to what is now known as the Hero’s Puppy for Life organization.”

Everything Frank does for HPFL is a labor of love. He receives no compensation for his service to the organization, with one exception: he requested that his own service dog, Bo, receive HPFL’s very first challenge coin. These coins, which carry a long military history, are reserved for the veterans who shepherd their puppies through nine-months of training to graduation. The Graduation Challenge Coin is issued with a sequential number and is meant as a public expression of the recipient and puppy’s dedication and hard work. In 2017, Bo was indeed the recipient of that first coin, numbered 001. Since then, HPFL has graduated puppies 002 through 081, with puppies 082, 083, and 084 to follow in May.

Hero's Puppy for Life will be at AECOM booth 213 to provide puppy therapy and information about their organization. Please join us in donating to this special cause.