Veteran & First Responder Support

Supporting Veterans, First Responders, and their families through life’s challenges and achievements is at the heart of Building Battle Buddies. The program pairs qualified participants with carefully selected rescue dogs and guides them through an immersive 21-day experience to train their own service dog. This hands-on journey builds confidence, resilience, purpose, and a lasting bond between each participant and their Battle Buddy. Through ongoing support, fellowship, and community connection, Building Battle Buddies helps participants and their families move forward with strength and renewed hope.

Their Approach

Building Battle Buddies’ approach creates an opportunity to change two lives at once. A rescue dog receives a second chance, purpose, training, and a permanent partner, while a Veteran or First Responder gains a trusted service companion trained alongside them.

The result is more than a trained service dog. It is a partnership built on trust, teamwork, companionship, and purpose—one Battle Buddy team at a time.

Support Our Heroes and Their Battle Buddies

The Amelia Island Charity Group proudly supports Building Battle Buddies and its mission to serve Veterans and First Responders through life-changing service-dog partnerships. Your support helps provide the resources, training, and opportunities necessary to bring these teams together.

Strength. Purpose. Companionship.

For many Veterans and First Responders, the challenges of service can continue long after the mission, deployment, or emergency has ended. Building Battle Buddies provides a unique path forward by bringing together qualified Veterans and First Responders with carefully selected rescue dogs and giving them the training, resources, and support needed to build a lasting service-dog partnership.

Through an immersive 21-day training program, participants work alongside experienced trainers to train their own service dogs. This hands-on approach is designed to build confidence, trust, independence, and an unbreakable bond between each participant and their Battle Buddy. Building Battle Buddies describes its mission as creating a path toward healing, resilience, mutual trust, companionship, and renewed purpose.

How BUILDING BATTLE BUDDIES Helps

• Service Dog Training — Participants take an active role in training their own service dog, developing the skills needed to work together as a team.
• Rescue Dog Placement — Carefully selected shelter and rescue dogs are given a second chance and a new purpose as service companions.
• Veteran Support — Qualified Veterans are provided an opportunity to develop a service-dog partnership built around their individual needs.
• First Responder Support — The program also serves qualified Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, Paramedics, and other First Responders who have experienced trauma through their service.
• 21-Day Immersive Training — Participants train alongside their dogs through an intensive program designed to establish the foundation for a successful service-dog team.
• Fellowship & Camaraderie — Participants train alongside others who understand the unique challenges associated with military and first-responder service.
• Confidence & Independence — The service-dog partnership is intended to provide companionship, support, and greater confidence in everyday life.
• Continued Partnership — Graduation marks the beginning of a lasting relationship between each participant and their Battle Buddy.