American Water Charitable Foundation and American Water Military Services Group Support Veteran's Life-Changing Road to Recovery

In 2022, American Water’s Military Services Group, in collaboration with the American Water Charitable Foundation, partnered with K9s For Warriors via the Foundation’s Keep Communities Flowing State Strategic Grant Program, with a vision of saving two lives: a rescue dog and a veteran.

The grant supported a four-legged hero, providing veterinary care, equipment and training they needed to become a life-saving tool for veterans healing from service-connected traumas.

The Military Services team also had the great honor of selecting their rescue dog’s name, and after an internal vote, decided on Hydro/Hydra:

Hydro/Hydra is a prefix that means “water."  At American Water we provide safe, clean and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. The team thought this was a great way to connect our core passion of water with our future Service Dog and the K9s For Warriors team.

Roughly six months later, Hydra graduated from Service Dog training and was paired with her Warrior, a U.S. Navy Veteran, where they trained together at the Petco Love K9 Center (San Antonio, Texas).

In February 2023, they graduated from the program, together.  Sean Wheatley, VP of Operations, American Water Military Services Group, was in attendance, cheering on Hydra and her Warrior during graduation.

K9s For Warriors is the nation’s largest provider of trained Service Dogs for veterans and remains committed to ending veteran suicide, raising awareness for invisible disabilities and creating policy-level reform.

 

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Photo credit: K9s For Warriors

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