Hey, humans. How's it going? Susan Ruth here. Thanks listening to another episode of, hey, human podcast. This is episode 416, and my guest is Shannon Walker. Shannon is a world class dog trainer, and the founder of man's best friend, top dog academy and northwest battle buddies, which is a profit that helps train and provide service dogs to Veteran's experiencing Ptsd, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma.
S is also the executive director of the association of service dog providers for military veterans. She has experienced in dog psychology, pack order, and dog instinct, and she's helped thousands of people and dogs, including many, many police departments, bond and train and learn with their dog. She's a really lovely woman. She has devoted her life to helping others hugely supportive of the veteran community, and, I mean, anyone that works with dogs is already the best of the best in my book.
So... And to work with dogs who then help people. It's an incredible life's purpose. So I'm excited for you to hear. Shannon Story. General stuff, I'm on Patreon at Susan Ruth. Check out hey human podcast dot com for links and to learn more about my guests and the show. Check out susan root dot com to learn more about me and my other artistic endeavors.
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Thank you for listening. I appreciate you. I hope you are doing well in these in uncertain times and hang in there and just know that I'm out here rooting for you. Alright. Be well. Take care. Here we go. Shannon Walker, welcome to hate human. I. Thank you very much for having me on your show. Super excited today. Yeah. I'm excited to. When I read bios of people when they're sent to me, you know, when I see anything that says dog in there.
Yeah. I get extraordinarily excited. So I'm I'm thrilled that you you came on the show. I like to start these by asking people where they grew up and what shaped them when they were younger that led them onto their path. Yeah. That's a great question. So I grew up in Oregon, which is a Cowboy town, Growing up. It had, like, the fifth largest rodeo in the United states every year. So our little town just turned into this. I mean,
you saw people parked. People would run out their yards for people to park trailers or camp out in, and they would actually... Would leave their home and rent out their home that week. For people to come. It was crazy, but it was my favorite time of the year, my dad, you know, when we talk about what shapes my life, I grew up with an amazing family, and my parents were just incredibly loving and incredibly supportive. And my mom was always the 1 that was a soft placed a land, but my
dad was very much. He commanded respect. I never back talked him once in my life. But he was an incredible patriot. So when we look at kinda what shaped what I do now, my dad was all about achievement. My dad was all about... You never quit. It's I mean, he perseverance was everything. And even though he didn't say that, he lived it, and that's the example. And so now when you look at the work that I do with dogs and veterans and things
like that. If we look back at my experiences with my dad, you know, my dad served during the Korean war, he loved
America. And he taught me to believe and got family in country, and when you're in the presence of a veteran you're in the presence of a hero, And he never said that, but again, yet that was modeled, and we'd be at the Middleton roundup, and he'd have his hand his heart during the National Anthem, and he always had a tear running down his face or quiver chin because he just loved America, and he loved the
men and women who provided our freedom. And even though he would always go and shake somebody's hand and thank him for their freedom, but he was always extremely uncomfortable if anybody came up to him because you know, he taught me when you're in the presence of a veteran you're in the presence of a hero even though he never considered himself 1.
And so it shaped that really framed my opinion, everything I've done in my life, if I was to look back at my life, you could say I really applied that even though that wasn't a conscious thing. It's just who I am and how I was raised. So it was pretty awesome. I was very blessed growing up. You you hit on something really major at least in my estimation that you can say whatever you want.
You can talk about your thoughts and feelings and all that till the cows come home, but it's really about how you live your life. You you become the living embodiment of example by your actions, and deeds, At 100 percent. It's like, what are you telling people every day about yourself and you didn't say 1 word? They saw it in your actions. They saw how you served them. They saw how you cared about them. They saw your heart or how you handled conflict.
Being a single mom, I was extremely aware of that growing up with my boys because their future what I was very aware that I had a major effect on how they would choose to live life. Because we can come in my opinion. We can come from a lot of different experiences. As a matter of fact, my father, he did not have the example said for him about what a good family was. So what he did is he took the opposite. He goes, this is how my
family was, so I want the opposite. I want my children to be loved don't want them to be provided for. I want them to have the support because he never had it. So people can go 1 way or the other. You can you can either be a product of your environment or you can d be determined, I will choose how I will
respond to these things happening? And then how do I wanna affect people and and especially, you know, as I've learned through life because I have a few decades behind me, I really wanna be my best self in every room. So in every room, I'm authentically me even though not everybody gets all of me. Yeah. I can relate to that. Yeah. Yeah. I'm curious. This is completely off topic and rather personal, but when you have a father who models that kind of man isn't that make dating super difficult?
Yeah. Absolutely. It makes dating. You don't No. These are all subconscious decisions. This is all a subconscious everything, but it did and the fact that, you know, I was a single mom that tells you how well I I did that. And I... And and and if we're gonna... I... I don't have that lot in my life. When I was a single mom, I was dedicated to my children. And I... I... And my businesses and that was pretty much how I've lived in my life. And I have my dogs, so I'm
good. Yeah. I what more do you need, really? No. Right? Exactly. They told my love bucket for sure. So... Yeah. Did you grow up in a dog family then or was this something that that came by you later? Oh, no. I I've started begging for a dog when I was, like, 4 or 5 years old, and we've had dogs ever since, and I wanted to be a veterinarian until I worked in a vet clinic, and then cried all the time. So I'm like, okay.
I can't work in vet clinic, and I had no idea I'd become a dog trainer that was very organic and totally, the minute I was exposed to that world. I was hooked. But I've always... I wanted to live on a farm. I wanted horses. I love dogs, I... Every every animal that was on the street. I felt was lost. We had cats. I just wanted to save everybody. I just wanna save all the animals I saw. I'm still that way. I'm feeding, like, 3 feral cats outside. I mean... Yeah. I mean, it's...
You know, I I can't... I I love animals so much, and especially dogs. So. Where do you live now? Battleground Washington. Oh, I'm from Washington State. Oh, awesome. Where you live? Well, I live in Santa Monica, but I was born in Seattle. Oh, you are. Yeah. Lots of rain. So I'll be there with it... I'll be up there in 2 weeks for a golf tournament. So Oh, texas is nice. Gal is putting 1 on front on profit northwest battle base. So... Okay. Well, let's get into the starting of
you working with service animals. And, was it already in the beginning geared toward veterans and Ptsd? Or is this something that came later? So how... What was the arc of that? So I got married. It got pregnant with twins to answer that question. I got married, got pregnant with twins, and then realized right away I'd started training for myself in the sc in sport, which is, like police dog training. And then very early on, I realized I needed to get a job, But because I
didn't want put my children in daycare. So everybody that needs to do that. You know, I mean, you know, I... That that's a heart. That's that's a that's a difficult road to navigate. I would imagine, but I I didn't want I wanted to be able to stay home and steal my own values into my children. And so I was able to start my own business my dog training business. A little bit of knowledge is at dangerous thing. I knew a little bit more than I knew last week, so I felt like
I could start a business. And I really did. I just started it, and I just faked it till I made it. Well, 30 years later now. I'm still training dogs, but it's really changed my world. I didn't know the decision out of necessity to make money and be a stay at home mom, so I needed to do a business outside of my home. So I took my hobby, made it a profession, and I grew from there. So we built a kennel on 4 acres here, and I had my 4 profit business and what... And I was just trained and
I was working with the police departments. I competed for 10 years. And I was just helping all these pet owners with their dogs, you know, and listening to and seeing the tears and working dogs with bite histories and saving dog families is what I was doing. And then 1 day a veteran walked into my business, looking for help. He wanted his personal dog to be trained to be a service dog. And so because I was doing a groom at that time, I was doing a bath.
And... But because he walked in and he was a veteran, I had somebody take over what I was doing, and I went to serve him personally. And he talked about wanting his dog to serve him and be a service dog for Ptsd. So I just did what I do. I assessed the dog told them what it was gonna take, how long it was gonna take She was young enough, and I felt it had temperament enough based on my first evaluation. So he left her with me for months,
and I trained her. And then when it was time for him to come in for his training portion of it. That's where things started to change for me. And so I learned about the suicide rate amongst our American heroes. I had learned that since he had been home. First of all, he had been self medic with illegal drugs for quite some time, but now he had been cleaned for a year, heavily involved in the Va. And in his journey,
on his path to healing. He wanted to have a service dog, but he was also talking to me about how 6 of the men out of his unit. Had committed 6 had committed suicide on American soil after coming home. And I just couldn't believe it. My dad had always taught me that freedom wasn't free. But I had no idea the price that they are men and women who served our country are still paying even though they're not wearing the uniform anymore. And I started to see
how he responded in public. So when it came time for us to go out in public, and start to train his dog. I saw the panic attacks. I saw the anxiety, but I also saw him do for his dog what he was unwilling to do for himself. And I saw him find courage to lead her where he was afraid to go alone. And for me, out of everything I'd done in the dog world, I've competed in Sc. I've competed internationally. I've
helped police officers with their dog. I've helped thousands of pet families, but this was different. And so we finished his training, and I watched him walk away with his head high and his shoulders back. And I significantly felt like I'd made the difference in the quality of somebody's life. And so that moment was amazing, but then that kinda where it was for me until veterans started to come to my business.
Veterans who knew him Before he had Sammy as a service dog and after he had her as a service dog, and they started coming and looking for dogs. They started coming and they wanted they wanted what Kevin had, and I didn't have dogs to give them. So in my simple minded thinking, I thought, if I can just adopt dogs out of shelters, I can give them, and I can say thank you for my freedom. And I... That's what I did. I went right out to a local shelter. They checked me out. They checked up my
reputation. I walked out with 5 dogs for free. I already had a kennel and a staff to take care of him professionally, and we got started. That was 257 service dogs ago, 257 veterans lives changed, and we have not lost 1 veteran into suicide in the last 12 years. We have not lost 1. It's amazing. And so that's... It's incredible. That was the arc. That encounter changed my life.
And it and it has just opened up a world that needs the expertise of what we have and we bring and and just... I mean, there's just a whole not just a chapter but a novel after that, but it all started with 1 dog and 1 veteran and the and seeing the need and knowing that god gifted me with a talent that I've also perfect my craft and my skill. And honed it in so I can make a difference, and that's what we do every day. It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for that service.
Absolutely. It's... You know, the veterans will talk to us, you know, especially at graduation day, and they're just thanking us. And it's like, what I try to tell them, it's not a cliche, but it's an honor to serve them. It is an honor. To walk their walk freedom with them because that is what this is when they're walking through them mall with their service dog, when they're going through Tsa when they're going out in public, we have veterans that have not
been in public. Sometimes we had 1 veteran that hadn't been in a mall for decade. But he's doing it with a service dog and he's using the dog as the tool it is to help mitigate the symptoms of his ptsd for him to ground himself for him to be able to collect himself and get back to a place in his brain where he can then press on and move forward with the mission of the day, and that's how they'll put it. It's like, The
mission is, I'm... They look at it. Is that, The mission is is to go into Walmart and to do my shopping list and walk out. And to us, we take it for granted. We walk in, We walk out, we're you know, whatever it is. But for them, some of them, that is a debilitating act or assignment But now they're doing it, but they're doing it with the service at their side as the tool that it is because they learned how to manage the tool
use the tool. To get through it and to do it and they find their best self in it. Is there a particular breed. Now, obviously, you when got rescue dogs says tend to be all sorts of different kinds of dogs. Do you find that certain breeds and or much take to it better? And then, what is the process? How do you take a dog who's just being a dog and she... Yeah. Sharing them to be a champion? Yeah. Absolutely. Well said. So first of all,
yes. We still take rescue dogs and then in the beginning, it was all rescue dogs. But as our number started to grow is our waiting list started to grow. And because we have we have donor dollars to be respectful of. We don't wanna waste them. Once we start training. We wanna make sure we can finish that. But if you're failing a dog halfway out and have to repurpose that dog, then those are donor dollars wasted. That was another veteran that is now having to wait longer on the list.
And so we do still use rescue dogs, but for the most part, we use purpose bread dogs. We use English labs and English cream golden retriever. We also use for the hypo australian lab doodle, and then we'll also use, you know, just regular lab doodle. And so that's typically the wheelhouse we're in, but, yes, we still will have, like, in this last group, we had a hound lab rescue, and he was an amazing dog. So you're right. Going into the shelter, there's a mixed bag.
And the other thing is that in the shelter, unfortunately, there's a lot of pit and pit and I'm not against the breeds at all. We actually have some pip in our program from early on, But we don't wanna handicap the veteran by because our veterans, a lot of them are in the work environment. And when you have an office job and your pit bull is there with you when your clients have to walk in or your German shepherd dog or your rot or your Ba or her breeds can be
exactly. It can intimidate the public. But everybody wants to see a lab or a golden retriever. So we have to take all of these things into consideration when we're pairing for the overall success of the team, which is the veteran and the service dog. And then what we do is whether we get it all out of a shelter or we purpose breed them, they go... The the puppies go into a foster home up to a year, and they're part of somebody's family. They're loved. They're just part of the family
as they grow up. And then when it's at... About a year old or so, that's when they come to us, and we train them for 5 months, how we get them to be able to be this sometimes out of control dog that was living in a family loved full of life. They're still full of life, but we also now want them to be disciplined and purpose So when they are vested, they are functioning as a tool that they need to be, which is mitigating symptoms of Ptsd and walking out the life with that handler.
So we train the dogs for 5 months here on site, and then we teach them all about public access. We teach amazing obedience, but we also teach them how to task. For the symptoms of Ptsd. And then what we also do and they're out in the environment doing everything. And then our veterans come from across the nation and they train with us for 5 weeks 5 days a week. They pass their testing, and we take them everywhere. They don't wanna go. We do... They do everything They don't wanna do.
Just for the hope that service dog is gonna bring to their life. And then we gift it to them at the end of the 5 weeks, which is always the... And the most amazing day, other than the day they meet their service dog. That's the second most amazing day in this organization. But then once they leave, They come back at 3 months and retest. They don't have to do the 5 weeks again, but they retest after 3 months, and then they re they retest 9 months later and then every year after that for
the life of the dog. So our veterans come back and rec certify. We get eyes on the dogs, and we wanna offer that continued support for our veterans, whatever they may need after they leave us in, you know, with with their dog, you know, with life changes whatever it might be. You know, I tell our veterans, you know, we're a family. When you leave, you're part of the Northwest Val based family and we're there for you.
Because life can... Life doesn't stop life and no matter what you're doing or where you're at or what you're dealing with. You know, so many of are better and they'll come here. And in those 5 weeks, sometimes their wife will leave them. Sometimes it's the anniversary date of their buddy who committed suicide or their bus but their best buddy commit suicide while they're here or their meds get messed up or their meds don't show up. Or whatever it might
be. But in the life doesn't stop, and we we have the honor of working with these these American heroes that are just... They refused to be denied, and they refuse to become a statistic of the 22 a day, and they're looking for a way to not just survive but live but differently than they've been surviving before because there's a difference between surviving living. And we just tell them because they come in, and they don't trust us. They they have all these walls and barriers.
And we just tell them trust the process. And then they meet their dog and they bond with the dog, and we see these walls start to come down. They start to open up, and the tight lip trembling veteran that we may meet on day 1 that's thrown up in his car, thrown up in the parking lot. Trembling coming in, can't even look us in the face. At the end of 5 weeks where a service dog aside is holding a microphone talking to a group of people, hundred people saying
about how their dog chain... Is already changing their life, and it's amazing. And that's what I get to do. That's that's the world we walk in. Yeah. Wow. It's very powerful. How do you prepare for the fact that Unfortunately, dogs don't live to be a hundred years old as much as we wish they did. How do you prepare them for that? Now, that is such a great question. We prepare for the loss of a service dog. We already have processes in place, and our veterans know this. So
as a quick story. So 2 years ago on New Year's Eve, I get a call. From our veteran liaison at 11:30, and she tells me that 1 of our veterans just... Their dog just died. 11:30 on New Year's eve, unexpected. And so I'm like, give me his number, so I called Ryan was his name, but his golden retriever bullet just died And so I called him in the first question I... So it's 11:30 at night on New Year's Eve. And when I say we're a family I mean it. First question I said is, are are you alone?
And he had his wife with him. Because that's that's our first thing. I... We wanna get them through this process. So he is with his wife and then the second question I is Can we serve you with another dog like, right away. And he was even... And I said, I know your grieving bullet and this... But I want you to know you will immediately be moved to the top of our list, and we are working dogs right now, and I will hand pick a dog for you right now and be sending you
pictures. He says, let me think about it, and I'll get back with you. 2 days later. He goes, I I can't survive without a service dog. We picked the dog and we sent him the pictures and we just kept feeding them the pictures and within 2 months, he was in, meeting the dog and we went through... He... Because he was already a season Handler. He didn't have to do the 5 weeks, but he went through everything that we wanted him to go through
and that dog is serving him today. But we tell our veterans if anything happens to your dog or, you know, some dogs... We're we're 13 years old now, we have some are very, very first veterans with dogs the dogs are passing away. And those veterans those veterans are being moved to the front of our list, and we are serving them immediately. We have a hundred and 5 veterans waiting on our list for service dogs. A hundred and 5 veterans that
are looking for help. They wanna survive differently, better. And but our existing veterans go to top of that list, and we'll immediately plug them in. So they have hope, and they have pictures of the dog they're gonna get, and then we get that dog ready as soon as possible. Gosh. I... I mean, when you say there's so many... I hate that there's that many people waiting. Yeah. That... But there's only you... There's only so many you that and your people that you have and only so much space and
money and all of that. This is my biggest frustration with the military is that they send people to boot camp, they get them all prepared to go do the duty. And then when they get back, that's it. Sorry. You're on your own kid. It's I know the Va is there, and... But it's just not it's not enough. That's it's not enough. And these are human beings that complex struggles. Able exactly. So my twins served in the Army and marines. And so when they came out, they immediately
plugged to this. Because this is this was their life before they went into service and this is like their life when they came out. And you're exactly right. I saw my boys go through this system. I saw my boys go through the, you know, the out processing and everything that that all happened. And they're not prepared, but the difference is they come out especially those that have Ptsd and have... They come out different and changed,
and it's not just about... And the government, yes, they need to step up, and they... And And I'm not an expert in a lot of things, but I will tell you medications are not necessarily the answer. We have veterans that about on, literally over 30 meds a day to cope. That now with a service dog after a couple years with the supervision of their their medical professional are down to 1 med. We have veterans... That are completely medication free.
A service dog may not be for everybody, but for the 257 that we've served it is, And my prayers that for the hundred and 5 that are on our list it is, you know, But but I would say, you know, 1 of our of the executive members of this team, you know, he talks about, you know, it's we the people that need to take care of our military. It is we the people. The only thing that is in the way of the hundred and 5 veterans being served is money.
It costs us 25000 dollars to get a dog prepared and gifted. These dogs are gifted to our veterans. They've already paid a price for these dogs. We gift them while they're here through the training, they are charged nothing. These dogs are gifted, and we are 1 of the largest providers in the United States for veterans with service dogs of Pt. There are a lot of organizations out there and more power to, but they might be doing 5 dogs a year.
We're doing 40 dogs a year. And that may not sound like very much to somebody. But when you look at the body of work, it's huge, but the difference between us serving, veterans in a timely manner is money. It is we need it. And we are very grassroots. I will say Northwest battle buddies has a monthly giving program called operation never quit. And the story is about 1 of our veterans.
That refused to be denied, and he opened up his heart and told his story about a suicide attempt and got saved by his wife and it's an incredible story and the day he met his service dog was the anniversary of that suicide attempt. And he still has her, and he's still thriving, and It's an incredible monthly giving program, but Northwest battle and profits like us are relying on the American people. To say, thank you for my freedom because
everything begins with freedom. Think about what we're gonna do every day that freedom doesn't play a factor, get being able to go where we wanna go do what we wanna do. Say what we wanna say, what is our profession gonna be? What do we wanna do in life? What do we wanna be in life? That freedom came with a price, and I didn't have to pay it. My boys did, the men and women we served it. But I didn't have to. So what can
I do to give back? Find on profit, it's gonna make a difference, Give to us northwest battle. Yes. Northwest battle buddies. Absolutely. War as hell or is complicated, warfare is complicated politics are complicated. It's that whole mess bad. But the people that are... That's as they say boots on the ground doing their job, yeah, the... You know, we owe them a humongous debt.
In my personal opinion, Yes. I believe that when you serve in the military, when you come back, your rest of your life is free. Your medicines are free. That's doctor is free. Your restaurants are free. Yeah. Your phone bill is free. That's that's my opinion. I know that that's a grand idea, but it seems like the least we can do. Yeah Well, I don't disagree with you at all, and you're right. Less than 1 percent of the people in the United States have the courage
to sign on the... Dotted line and say, I will go wherever you ask me to go, I will do whatever you ask me to do to be a part of something greater than myself and to serve people I will never meet. And the families of those veterans that suffer and are without them and live with the uncertainty because those families are serving the same way. I know what it is to have my sons out of this country, not have contact, miss them, be wondering, be worrying, not
knowing what they're... Where they are what they're doing. I would tell you this, and this is why what you're doing is so beautiful full. We just need to be louder. We with this support of our veterans because it's proactive, it's beautiful. It's serving. It's being a blessing, serving people out of a open heart. We just need to be louder. You know, the voices is, sometimes it's not that... There's more of them. They just happen to be louder and they get attention. So
we need to be loud and speak. And so thank you for letting Northwest bad buddies me myself, highlighting the work that we're doing and the sacrifice for our veterans and how they need us. So thank you sal. I mean out screaming from the rooftops as long as I'm alive. Yeah. There you go. I love it. I think there's something interesting too as you were saying you know, once the veteran is paired with the dog. And
look, there... There's a thing about that they become then of service, to the animal as much as the animal as being a service to them. It's a different kind. It's an emotional bond, and you have to take care of this animal. You have to feed this animal to walk this animal to water this animal, You have to make sure that he or she is is staying healthy and thriving. And if The 1 thing I know at my age is that the best way to get out of your head is to do something for someone else.
Absolutely. And to have that relationship. I mean, I think right there is is an incredible opportunity for somebody to go, Okay. I'm in my head and it's chaos in here, but there's this creature that is fully dependent on me. And Yeah. I mean, that's humongous is 1 of our veterans in the last group. He said the leash goes both ways. Yeah. Oh, I love that. I know. It
was awesome, But it is. So the thing is is that the culture of what we do is designed around the way that our veterans are trained and the culture that they're used to. First of all, It was a veteran that came up with the name Northwest battle buddies because the minute you go into the military. Even though I never served, but what I know or what I've heard is that you're signed to battle buddy. They never go anywhere without you. You are
responsible for each other. So it's a veteran that came up with the name Northwest Battle because of that, cultural familiarity. And then we're talking about discipline. We're talking about leadership. We're talking about breaking barriers. We are talking about courage. We are talking about overcoming and never quitting. And I tell our veterans this all the
time. Where's your battle buddy, protect your dog, this or that, your dog will never be the dog you want them to be until you're the leader they need you to be. This is a tool that is reliant on you that will serve you the rest of its life if you lead it well, and we are gonna set you up for success to do that and give you the skills and the discipline. But it's everything they know. They... It's the culture, the way we train the dogs, the way we train our veterans It is the
culture, the cam. You know, we have many of our veterans because the 5 weeks is hard. The Not everybody makes it through. And it's hard, but we've had veterans and it said that'll say they wanna quit, and they'll they'll pair up, and they'll be like, I won't quit if you don't quit. And the day that 1 feels like quitting, the other 1 keeps them in. And the other day, the other 1 feels like quitting, and they do that and they get each other through. And it's incredible. It is... And it doesn't
matter what conflicts. So Northwest Dog serves all conflicts. A lot of organizations only serve post 09:11. But we serve all conflicts. Our hundredth dog went to a Vietnam veteran, and that was just amazing because... They didn't get what they deserved. So I love to serve our Vietnam veterans. I love to serve all of our veterans, but the
Vietnam veterans really have my heart. But it doesn't matter what conflict you can be a Vietnam veteran that is now serving somebody who's 25 years old that is here getting a dog. And so you're looking at the decades of living and battling Ptsd, and he's finally getting help. And then you have somebody that's younger, but but they serve each other in the cam and the unity in that group.
It's it's a privilege for me to be able to observe it and witness it and and be surrounded in that culture because it's unlike anything I've ever experienced anywhere else in the world and anything I've been involved in, it's really beautiful. What's it's important to know you're not alone and that someone else is is there for you. I mean, that's the bottom line of being a human being. Yeah. Well, they they tell each other all the time. I got you. You're having a
hard. You know, it's like, they're going into them mall. Somebody's already t on or wanting to throw up in the parking and lot and they're like buddy. I got you. We'll do it together. I got you. So we had 1 in this last group, the veteran has seizures brought on by the Ptsd. And he had a grand seizure in the mall. And all the other buttons stood around with their dogs and they waited. Some of them
were praying. Some of them were just... Standing looking around, almost like standing guard as this 1 veteran. He knew he was gonna see. He's, like, do not call 911, And we already nukes. Because we knew all their medical history when they come in, but they're right in the middle of this mall. He's having a seizure on the floor, and the dog is right there. And we waited for him to come out and immediately the dog goes, and he starts tactile reinforcement grounding with the dog, helping him
come out. He's disoriented that dog just melted into him. But I was standing there watching not only what he was going through, but what he was living with just trying to find a better way forward. And I was so emotional because sometimes they're struggle to watch their struggle for me, it's almost too hard to watch. We had this 1 gal. She's 78, and she was in this last group, and we're going through Tsa. And she, by the time we were getting out, she was having such a bad panic
attack. Is the worst I've ever seen. I was helping her walk out. I didn't know if she wasn't gonna go to the floor. Such and it was aft... And I'm... I stay strong during. But afterwards, it's like, to watch what they have to endure to get through. The things that we take for granted every day is so humbling and it's sometimes it's overwhelming because it's so sad, but to watch this courage and action and the human spirit that refuses to be denied. They're like, I will never quit
and they don't. And she walked away with her service dog. And it's just incredible. And I have so many stories like that. They're all the same, but they're all unique. To themselves. It's incredible. It's incredible what we get to do and who we get to walk out life with. I'm so blessed and so privileged that my circle is American heroes every day. How do you take care of you? I take care of me. Thank you. That's a great question. Self care. I'm a christian.
I rely on my relationship with Jesus Christ. I spent time with my family. I am involved. In mentoring programs. I have a Ceo coach. I am always trying... Working on being my best self and and engaging and learning my coaching skills, my leadership skills, all of that to invest in myself, I work out every day. I play with my dogs, and I'm with my family. So my downtime is time with my family. Time with God, my 80 year old mother. She goes don't tell people hold old.
But lives with me. Now, for almost 3 years this October. And that is a special blessing. So that's how I do that. And then and then I just rely on god every day, and we push through every day, and I'm not gonna say that it is not without challenges and sometimes I'll never say I'm overwhelmed, but there are days that life is just life. And I need a break. But I've taught my kids ever since they were little, no matter what. You always do what comes next.
And if you don't know what it is, you wait for it and then you do it. And that's just how I lived my life. I'm am assuming your dad is passed? Yeah. He died. December twentieth 2011. What's his name? Glenn Walker. I'm sure that Glen is looking down and so proud. Yeah. He he was such an amazing force on this earth for me that when he died, I actually thought it was gonna break me. I've heard people say this broke me and I never... And, like,
get over yourself a little bit. But when he died, I just wasn't quite how I was gonna continue to cope because he was such a source of strength and wisdom for me. And I was Daddy's girl, spoke with him every day even though we might have lived United States part, he I was a daddy's girl all the way my whole life. And I was with him when he died, but when he died, I I did. I I just didn't know how I was gonna. I I wasn't thinking about anything serious. I
just didn't know how to cope. I just didn't know how I was gonna do life without talking him every day and having that source of strength on this earth with me. But I was going through just shortly after. I literally cried every day for year after my dad died. And then I needed to get myself together because my boys needed me. To stop grieving.
And everybody's everybody's journey is their own, but I I needed to... I needed to move on not move on from my father, but III stopped... I needed to stop crying every day. And... But I was shortly after being my dad died, I was gonna and bookstore and I looked up at this picture of these horses running on the beach, and they were running as fast that could couldn't, and it was so beautiful. And the scripture was Hebrews 12 1. It says let us run with perseverance the rays marked out for us.
And I felt like that was now the scripture for my life. That no matter what life brings, even without my dad, it was about perseverance and it was about pressing on and and being a blessing. And that's the scripture for Northwest battle buddies, that is the scripture for my life. And that is how I look at life. And so even though there are days that are just like, wow. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed and I know I just need an app, because then I'm gonna feel
differently having that perspective. You know, living being my best self and living my best life and serving my family the way I wanna serve them and the people that are around me is a daily journey of how I can be better. I love that. It's good to have purpose. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, without purpose you're just existing. Right? Yeah. I mean, think about it. Tell me about the process you you get the new dog.
Can you tell right away that they are gonna be really into the program, there... I feel like I mean, I've had dogs my whole life, and I feel like when you're training them, At first, they're kind of wiggly and they don't really... They're like, what, you have a snack in your hand or whatever it is, and they want to please. That's just dogs, just the the most purest version of love you can get. They yep. I mean, they teach us so much about love.
But I mean, do you kind of... I know that for me when I've trained my pups that that there's that moment where they... Where it clicks, and they realized they're like, oh wait. I get it. And everything kind of shifts. So do you see that and then you go, oh, I know. Or do some still... You think, oh, well, this is gonna be a great pet, but not the not the working bag. Yeah. So
great question. So when it... When we're going to the process of training, if where we're gonna find, they're gonna make it or we have to repurpose them. I will tell you our our percentage of repurposing or dogs that fail is extremely low to the national standard. Not very often We have to face that because we are purpose breeding now, so I'm breeding dogs that are genetically inclined to be able to do the work. But some... And what we're looking for is dogs
that are social, dogs that are confident. I mean, it... Because it does come down to genetics, and then it comes down to learn behavior. So... And the fact that we've been doing this for decades and I have an incredible team we know what we're looking at within minutes when we're looking at a dog. So it's not like anything as a mystery to us at this stage of the game. And there are some dogs that sometimes we are on the fence. We're like, well, we're gonna see how this plays out because...
Because sometimes you'll get into it, because the more we require of the dogs through the 4 months or through the 5 months of training, we'll now start to expose the dog for something that maybe the dog can't overcome. And then we have to wash them, but it's very, very rare. Usually, you'll see the writing on the wall early. But we've also are
really good at what we do. And so we find a way to work the dog through it, so it can master the exercise so we can go on and serve better and well, not just well, but with excellence. We have amazing dogs. And Is there a sobriety requirement for the veterans? Oh, absolutely. There's a very strict application process. They have have stable housing, stable income. They
have to have a diagnosis of Ptsd. Most of them are all in a medical professional under their care, whether it's even counseling or whatever it might be, they have to have an honorable discharge. They have to be clean and sober for at least 6 months. If there are in any programs, they can go on our list, but they just have to wait to make sure everything is good.
And then whatever gets them qualified to come into this program, they have to maintain all of that after they received their service dog, they sign a contract when they leave. And if they fall out of what would have been qualification, then we reserve the right to seize the dog. And unfortunately, twice in 257, I have... You know, we've recovered the dog. So Wow, that's gotta be tough. It's very tough. But you know what? I will... But you know what Let me just
say this. But it's not tough. It's... First of all, you can't lead if you're not willing to do hard things. But those veterans with where they were in their life, we care about them. But they were they became so disconnected. 1 veteran... I don't even wanna... But 1 veteran it... There was no there were no tears. It wasn't like you thought it would be. It's like they were so disconnected from their dog and their life.
It was just a responsibility they didn't need to care for anymore, but that's that's an anomaly that is absolutely not the norm. You know, our veterans of... The veterans that have our dogs would die for these dogs. They would die for these dogs. These dogs are a lifeline to them. You know, that's why we can trust our veterans with them is because... I mean, they... The and I'm not even exaggerating when I say they take a bullet for their dog. I'm not. That's just the way they're they're
cut from that cloth. Yeah. The better that we serve. Yeah. Have such a beautiful story, and it's a credible. And it's interesting because I think I think of the... The kind of training that a canine unit needs, a dog that's going into the police service. Mh. Or or even Tsa, you know, bomb sniffing, drug sniffing, all that.
It's interesting to think that you have this dog, and then the pathway of its education of what it's going to become, whether it's, you know, the family dogs sit, lie down, shake or they'll get, you know, for somebody who's disabled, you know, get this food out of the refrigerator or get my let me know if I'm about to have a diabetic coma or, you know, whatever it is. It's just fascinating. The spectrum of what these dogs are capable
of. Yeah. It's... I had hundred percent agree with you because I have the honor working with the police departments. I've competed working with seizure detection dogs, pets, service stubs for veterans, whatever it is. That's why I think the dog is 1 of them amazing creatures. Walk on this Earth because the gift they can bring in the versatility Based on the breed, the breed tendencies, you know, you have your genetics, but then you also have environment.
When they have the leadership that they deserve and need. They can do great amazing things in the service of the human, bringing value, unconditional love, support and life saving abilities, but then also, just the ability that they can make it feel safe in the middle of the night. Kevin with Sammy. He would hear a sound in the middle knight and take his gun to clear his house.
After having Sammy as a service dog, If he heard something, he'd look over and if she's laying their sleeping, he knew there was nothing, and he'd go back to sleep. Because she, with her senses are gonna be... Is gonna be the first 1 to whatever is strain. She's his first line of defense, and he learned to rely on her instincts that are greater than his,
which brought peace of mind and security. I mean, it's like, when you have a tool that is that versatile that brings that many elements to the service that brings value to our life. It's like, there is no weather. There's no There's nothing that man can create as a prop prosthetic or a medical piece of it... Of, there... A medical piece of equipment to serve a disability. And then you have a live animal that can do all of that plus. Yeah. You
know? So... Yeah, It's pretty awesome. Yeah. I remember when my Mic died, when he passed away, I just remember how quiet the house was. I it was... I mean, firstly, devastated, I've never felt that kind of pain is losing. It's a it's like it's it's beyond. It's beyond. It sucks so bad. But I just remember how quiet the house was. Yeah. Oh, the emptiness and the whole in the home. That that energy and that life brought and the joy in just all the nuances. I 100 percent.
I have a pot I have AIA Youtube channel. And when my rot while passed away, my team... I... The minute passed away, I came home and I wrote a a tribute to him. And then my Youtube team says, can you please, can we can we do attribute and put it on Youtube? So I was so honored that they honored him that way and it so beautiful, but I get it, and I just... But the thing is is that so what... The pain is so great. You're like, I'll never do it again, but the value they
bring is even greater. So for most people like me, I have to go out and get another 1 because I need that in my life. I need dogs in my life. And what they bring to me because it's unlike what any human can. Amen did that sister? Yeah. Yeah. Do you know the the poem, the Rainbow bridge? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I got to interview, Edna, who wrote that. She wrote it when she was a teenager in my my. I'll I'll send it to you. It's yeah. It's incredible.
She's her. Yeah. That would be... That is the most popular. She had no idea. She was a grown woman, this not just just a couple years ago. I mean, she's She's older. She only just found out that this poem she wrote when she was 16 or 15 or 16. She wrote it about her dog major, her beloved dog who passed, and she had no idea that her friend and... She had shared it with her friend, and then her
friend had started sharing it. And it went worldwide for no. I mean, you're all the shades later, and she had no clue. Wow. Bless her heart. Well, that was beautiful. It was totally beautiful a full beautiful job. And no it's so great. Tell people, all the places they can find you, if they wanna donate if they wanna check out your
videos, all of that. So northwest battle buddies dot org is the profit that serves our American heroes that we gift professionally trained service dogs to our veterans battling Ptsd. Northwest dot org. We need people's help. We need the American people to step up and say thank you for my freedom in a life changing way by donating. You can check us out our 9 nineties wear completely transparent. Shannon Walker, the pack leader on Youtube is my Youtube channel.
And, I have Shannon Walker Unlimited, which is my Llc. I'm also the executive director of the association of service dog providers, which is a national nonprofit. Of service dog providers. It's an elite group of service dog providers across the United States, and I'm the executive director. So I have the opportunity to serve in many capacities to help bring knowledge and integrity into the service dog industry, fighting for our veterans on many, many different levels. And so it's it's an honor
to do all of that. Well, thank you for for all the work you do. It's incredibly important. It's be... It's a beautiful life's work and purpose. And I imagine that you are leading others to, you know, it's following your footsteps and do the same too. So thank you for that because exponentially, the work that you do is going to ripple out and and be incredibly impactful. Absolutely. Well, you from... It's about legacy. Is about legacy. And we absolutely wanna leave
the world better than we found it. Yeah. And we wanna work to go on long after we were there. Yeah. Really quick. I'll tell you. So the New York Dog film festival, which is in October. They actually have a new category of veterans with dogs of Ptsd. So we're entering 3 videos into that. And hopefully, they'll get be chosen, but and it'll be touring. So people will be able to see our dogs and our our veterans and
everything else. So it'll tour Canada and the United States in 50 to a hundred theaters in 20 25. So anyway, they tell our story. I love it. That's great. Do you do Tiktok? Because I think people make tons of money on Tiktok? So I monetized on Youtube, my Facebook. I'm monetized on Facebook my team just started Tiktok for me. Yeah. I don't know what it is. It must be Instagram. I'm on Instagram and Facebook, but I think they started me on Twitter. I
don't know if it's Tiktok or not. I don't look at all that. Yeah. I just pay attention to what I do to and I have a team, you know? I've I'm obsessed with all the dog, content on Tiktok. It's the best. And and I think it monetize really highly, you know, people love all of this kind of stuff. So it's just another financial income stream. I'll ask my team about it. Because I only started this a little over a year ago. The Youtube and all that. So I'm just little rios.
So I'll ask him if they're into that. But, yeah... Youngest person on your team and ask them. Yeah. There you go. I know you're like, I don't know. So... Yeah. I will. Thank you for that, though. Thank you. Thank you for listening everybody. Thank you, Shannon. Thank you very much for having me on show. It's awesome. You're great. Thank you. You too. Alright. Have a wonderful day. Welcome. Thank you. Alright. Bye bye. Bye everybody.
Bye bye. Bye. Great review and subscribe to hey human podcast on itunes or wherever, you get your podcast. Thanks. Bye.