Petco Foundation Invests in Shelter to Soldier’s LifeChanging Work Supporting Service Dogs and US Veterans Petco Foundation grant of $30,000 to Shelter to Soldier expands efforts to rescue dogs from shelters and train them to become service dogs for veterans Jaimie McAfee is a Marine Corps veteran originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served honorably from January 2006 through May 2010. Jaimie began his journey at Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego for recruit training. Upon graduating boot camp, he furthered training at Camp Pendleton, School of Infantry. After completing his basic training, he was transferred to his first duty station at the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in San Diego, CA. Jaimie served and deployed with HMM-163 from 2008-2010; he was then attached to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
Most recently, Moose (who was partnered with Jaimie) is a pit mix sponsored by the Petco Foundation and adopted by Shelter to Soldier from the San Diego Department of Animal Services Bonita Shelter, graduated with Jaimie at the program’s headquarters on Friday, May 3, 2019. This pair is the first of five upcoming graduations with Petco Foundationsponsored service dogs through Shelter to Soldier’s service dog training program. The grant was made possible through the Petco Foundation’s annual Helping Heroes fundraising campaign. Each October during the campaign, Petco customers are invited to donate online and in Petco stores across the country to support the life-changing work of service, therapy and working animals.
During his military service, the ship Jaimie was aboard was involved in an at-sea collision, resulting in Mr. McAfee suffering a traumatic brain injury. Upon returning from his deployment, he completed his four-year term and was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. According to Jaimie, “Looking back on my service, I have nothing but good memories, and a tremendous respect for the brave men and women who supported me.” But Mr. McAfee’s head injury would later be connected to a diagnosis that made it difficult to manage his daily tasks and life in general. That’s when he found relief with the Shelter to Soldier non-profit service organization in San Diego. Jaimie applied and was accepted into the Shelter to Soldier service dog program. His success story is directly attributed to a very generous grant from the Petco Foundation, who sponsored his service dog named “Moose”. Shelter to Soldier was awarded a $30,000 grant investment from the Petco Foundation to support its rescue dog and veteran program that trains service dogs for veterans suffering invisible wounds related to combat experiences. The announcement of the Petco Foundation investment supports training three additional Petco Foundation-sponsored rescue dogs that will be partnered with post-9/11 combat veterans in need this year.
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SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / JULY 2019
Peggy Hilliar-Petco Foundation, USMC Veteran Jamie McAfee