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Service dog organization aims to pair canines with veterans

Times West Virginian - 2/16/2019

Feb. 16--FAIRMONT -- Years of military service left Anastasia Hilvers Burns in somewhat poor physical condition.

She would require some type of assistance if she wanted to walk and maneuver regularly, but a walker just didn't seem to be optimal for her.

So instead, she got Mon Equi.

"Normally these really big dogs are used for balance and mobility, which is exactly what's going on with me," Hilvers Burns, an Army veteran, said. "I have a rare form of arthritis... and then I was in a really really bad accident that shattered my leg.

"I can go 'Come here,' and the dog will come."

Mon Equi has now been succeeded by another service dog, Hoodoo Moon, who were both set up with Hilvers Burns through the organization Hearts of Gold, which has a mission to pair dogs with veterans in need.

Hoodoo Moon and Mon Equi made an appearance alongside several other service dogs from Hearts of Gold Friday at the Fairmont Armory, where the organization was having a fundraiser to raise money to continue raising and training dogs for veterans. The event included silent auctions, raffles and a performance by Rick K and the Allnighters.

"What we do is we place service dogs with individuals with mobility impairments or psychiatric issues," Lindsay Parenti, director of program operations for Hearts of Gold, said. "It's all free for them, so our funding comes from grants, community donations and events like this."

The fundraiser comes at a time when the organization is preparing to fulfill a goal requiring multiple service dogs.

"Veterans do not have to pay for anything," said Frank Yuvancic, former president of Human Animal Bond, the parent company of Hearts of Gold. "There's a ton of veterans out there looking for service dogs, where are they going to go, who is going to provide for them? That's the great thing that's happening right now is we're preparing to place 10 service dogs with 10 veterans."

According to Yuvancic and Parenti, the money raised through the event goes toward the training of the dogs of Hearts of Gold, which is also partnered with West Virginia University to do so. Most of the dogs are obtained at a young age, and because it can take up to two years to get them ready for service coupled with the size they grow to in the process, funding is needed to maintain the animals.

"Estimates are up to 10 to 30 thousand dollars per dog," Parenti said. "We train them for two years, so if you consider all the health care and feeding and training costs for two years it's a pretty expensive endeavor."

So far, Hearts of Gold has placed 27 dogs with veterans, and Yuvancic said they may move toward providing them for individuals in the future. The dogs could be anything from service dogs to therapy dogs to emotional support dogs, depending on the level of training they are able to complete.

"Our main goal is service," Parenti said. "But only about 30 percent of dogs that enter training can make it to that level; it's a pretty high level. If they don't make it to service, we go to therapy and if they can't do that, they make an emotional support animal."

Parenti added that about 50 percent of dogs have been donated by breeders, 15 percent of the dogs are bred by Hearts of Gold, and the rest are obtained through purchase or through shelters. In one case, a dog trained by Hearts of Gold was purchased by a Harley owners group to train and then place with one of its members.

"We deal with a lot of veterans," Dianne Stewart, director for Mountaineer Hog Chapter, said. "So we're looking at putting her with a veteran that has motorcycles, getting her accustomed and things like that. She's in her training, so she'll test in July."

For the owners of the service dogs, the bond between the two is one of mutual support. Hilvers Burns cares for her dogs every day, but they also help her to live a life that allows for easy maneuvering throughout.

She commented that despite the work, the benefits allotted by her service dogs have made her life one she is happy with.

"It's work to have a dog, it's expensive -- it's work," Hilvers Burns said. "If it wasn't for Hearts of Gold, my life's quality would be very poor indeed."

For more information on Human Animal Bond Hearts of Gold, visit its website at www.humanimalbond.org.

Email Eddie Trizzino at etrizzino@timeswv.com and follow him on Twitter at @eddietimeswv.

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