Shelter Dog Becomes Soldier’s Best Friend

Every pet that enters the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) is special in their own right. Then there are those who are not only special, but who are also destined for great things.

Cooper is just one of those dogs.

Cooper, a 2-year-old Golden Retriever, came to AHS in August as a stray who no one ever came to claim. AHS’ behavior team saw a special trait in Cooper and they reached out to one of AHS’ partners, Soldier’s Best Friend (SBF). Soldier’s Best Friend is a non-profit organization who works with Valley veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and trains therapy/service dogs (mostly rescue dogs) for those veterans.

It may sound easy, yet Cooper’s road to finding Sarah was anything but. Due to his hyper nature, two veterans passed on Cooper… and then came Sarah, a veteran who was set on acquiring a yellow lab as her therapy dog. Despite her preferences, SBF encouraged Sarah to meet Cooper and it was an instant connection. Ever since, she has loved him and has dedicated herself to training him. Typically, the intense training program takes 6 months to complete, although some have graduated in just 4 months. And Sarah and Cooper? Graduation will take place in just under 3 months.

AHS is honored to work with Soldier’s Best Friend, an organization that does amazing work here in the Valley and we are extremely proud of Sarah, Cooper and the other 8 pairs who will graduate this week!