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What Will Your Life Mean? The Silent War of Legacy with Joe Gionti · Your Thoughts Your Reality

• 0:01
  What do you want your life to stand for?
• 0:03
  Not just professionally, not just financially, but as a human being.
• 0:08
  For a lot of veterans and first responders, it really just becomes a point where the mission changes.
• 0:14
  And the question becomes deeper than survival.
• 0:17
  It becomes who am I helping?
• 0:19
  What impact am I making?
• 0:21
  And what kind of legacy am I leaving behind?
• 0:24
  Today's conversation is about purpose, service, healing, and the powerful ways connection can change a lot.
• 0:35
  Welcome to Your Thoughts, Your Reality with Michael Cole, the podcast that shines a compassionate light on the journey of veterans battling through life challenges.
• 0:44
  Michael is a dually certified neuroencoding specialist in posting and keynote training presentations, dedicated to guiding military veterans as to navigate the intricate pathways of post-exploiting life.
• 0:56
  Joining them as we delve into the profound realm of neuroencoding science, empowering these brave individuals to conquer universal battles for procrastination, self-doubt, fear, and more.
• 1:07
  Together, let's uncover the strength within you to re-engage with families and society, forging a new path forward.
• 1:20
  Joe Gianti is the founder of Canine Heroes for Heroes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing service dogs to veterans and first responders.
• 1:29
  And believe this, at no cost to them.
• 1:32
  Through his work, Joe has witnessed firsthand the life-changing impact service dogs can have on healing, emotional support, and independence.
• 1:40
  Joe and I were just talking about this off-camera, and it's just amazing what they're doing.
• 1:45
  Joe is passionate about creating purpose-driven impact and giving back to the communities that have sacrificed so much.
• 1:53
  His work reminds others that legacy is not just about what you accomplished, but the lives you help change along the way.
• 2:00
  Joe, welcome to your thoughts here reality.
• 2:02
  Please tell us a little more about yourself, my friend.
• 2:04
  Thanks, Mike.
• 2:05
  It's good to see you again.
• 2:06
  It's been too long.
• 2:07
  I appreciate the invite back on the show.
• 2:09
  So again, my name's Joe Gianti.
• 2:12
  I'm the founder of Canine Heroes for Heroes.
• 2:14
  As you said, we're a nonprofit providing service dogs to veterans and first responders at no cost to them.
• 2:19
  And it truly is at no cost.
• 2:21
  The only thing we require from them is time.
• 2:23
  Time to be able to train so the dog can learn them and they can learn the dog.
• 2:28
  It's it's been a blessing, this journey I've been on to be able to serve our veteran and first responder community.
• 2:35
  And like you, we're both civilians.
• 2:37
  You know, we life took us in a different direction, and we both wanted to figure out how do we give back to those who have given so much to us.
• 2:45
  And that's that's what drives me to do this.
• 2:49
  I have such an utmost love, respect, and honor for all those who chose to put on the nation's uniform or the uniform of their community.
• 2:59
  And I could not be more proud to be an American and to support this these communities.
• 3:07
  Absolutely love it, man.
• 3:08
  Absolutely love it.
• 3:09
  You know, it's it's it's so needed, you know, and what you're doing.
• 3:13
  Again, we were just talking about it because we met kind of towards the beginning, right?
• 3:18
  And how much your mission has literally exploded.
• 3:22
  Yeah.
• 3:23
  You're creating a tsunami for good, man.
• 3:25
  It's not a ripple effect, you know, it's just it's a damn tsunami.
• 3:28
  So congratulations.
• 3:29
  I'm so proud to know you and of course support what you're doing, man.
• 3:33
  Oh, I appreciate that very much.
• 3:34
  And yeah, it has exploded, like you said, over the last several years, but we've really kind of kicked it into high gear.
• 3:41
  I've been blessed to bring on some amazing board members from the veteran community, the civilian community, the veterinary community, and they are helping us expand our reach even more.
• 3:54
  Because the more we can get the message out there about service dogs and what they can do changing the lives of their handlers, the better.
• 4:02
  And it gives people an understanding when they're out in public and see a service dog, how to interact, or more importantly, how not to interact with a service dog, to let that dog do his job.
• 4:13
  So it's it's absolutely amazing.
• 4:16
  This, like you said, the the stories and the people's lives that we are changing.
• 4:21
  And when I say we, it's not me, it's the dogs.
• 4:23
  I'm just a vessel to bring this to light.
• 4:27
  And you know, I honestly believe I was called to do this, and I am not gonna argue with the big man.
• 4:34
  Amen, man.
• 4:34
  And here's the thing, right?
• 4:36
  Is you absolutely there's proof in the pudding, right?
• 4:40
  I mean, you got 35,000 followers, and your YouTube's blowing up, and obviously the business aspect of it where you know the more people you're reaching is blowing up, so it's obviously so needed.
• 4:53
  And I'd say, if I can, you're the man to do it.
• 4:57
  Oh, I appreciate that very much.
• 5:00
  It's it's been amazing to see how people have taken to this mission, not just the board members who love what we do and have said, hey, I want to join your board, I want to see how I can help, but just the support we get from the different events we go to.
• 5:17
  And when a veteran comes up and thanks me, no, there you there's no need to thank me.
• 5:22
  Thank you for what you've done and sacrificed.
• 5:26
  You have done something most of us haven't done, me being included.
• 5:30
  So for me to be able to help in my small way is all I can ask for.
• 5:37
  They bring me into their community, they take me in as one of their own.
• 5:41
  And and I get to be a part of a community that I always wanted to be a part of, but life just took me in a different direction.
• 5:46
  And there's no looking back, it's how do I go move forward?
• 5:49
  And you and I had this discussion, little gray in the beard, so I'm too old to serve in any capacity as far as military or first responder goes.
• 5:57
  So it was what can I do?
• 5:59
  And that's when I came up with the service dogs.
• 6:02
  Yeah, and and it's it's you know, I'm just gonna say it.
• 6:04
  I mean, I I'm in the same boat.
• 6:05
  I do this because of my father, and I've seen I've seen the gap, right?
• 6:09
  The needs of these services.
• 6:11
  So, you know, like like you, I serve who serves, you know, because that's what I can do now.
• 6:16
  So absolutely love it.
• 6:18
  So so Joe, let's let's kind of dive in if you're ready, yeah.
• 6:21
  Absolutely.
• 6:21
  Fire away.
• 6:22
  Fantastic.
• 6:23
  So, you know, what what really first inspired you to create King Nine Heroes for Heroes?
• 6:30
  I mean what what was the the moment that you said, shit, I need to do something, and this is what I'm gonna do, right?
• 6:37
  Because we all have thoughts that go in our head, and and this is gonna get a little deeper into this, but yeah, what we we all have these thoughts that go come and go, right?
• 6:47
  And then there's things that skip, right?
• 6:50
  That's why I'm doing what I'm doing, and you're doing what you're doing, and it and it changes the world and it changes our lives, and we're we're grateful for it because we get to serve.
• 6:58
  So, what what was it that first inspired you and how did that submission really become personal for you?
• 7:04
  So, you know, growing up like you, my dad was in the military, he put his time in post or pre-Vietnam post-Korea.
• 7:12
  I've told the story I had a great grandfather come over from Sicily, joined the American Army, went to World War I, then became a citizen.
• 7:19
  Spent some time at the Virginia Military Institute.
• 7:21
  A lot of the guys I went to school with ended up going in the service.
• 7:24
  And it was something for many, many years, there wasn't a single day that went by that I did not regret not going into service.
• 7:31
  And I had to figure out what to do to fill that void because regret's gonna get me nowhere.
• 7:37
  You know, it's not gonna do anything for me.
• 7:40
  And my oldest son was an MMA fighter, pro MMA fighter.
• 7:44
  One of his teammates was an army veteran, fought in Afghanistan, and was a dog trainer.
• 7:49
  And um, so I started working him with my dog, and he had a service talk.
• 7:54
  And that just lit the fire.
• 7:56
  This is what I'm gonna do.
• 7:57
  It was just the hand of God came down and said, I you've been wanting a purpose, you've been wanting to know what you're supposed to do in life.
• 8:04
  Here it is.
• 8:05
  Now run with it.
• 8:06
  And through that, canine Heroes for Heroes was born.
• 8:10
  Our motto, healing is healing, is from our head trainer, Travis Lloyd.
• 8:14
  He he came up with that motto and it was so appropriate.
• 8:16
  It was just off the cuff.
• 8:17
  He's like, healing is healing.
• 8:19
  Oh my gosh, that's it, because it is.
• 8:21
  So from that point, it was 2021 when I hit the ground with Canine Heroes for Heroes.
• 8:26
  And as you can imagine, first few years were just fundraising, trying to trying to figure out what I'm doing.
• 8:30
  I'm not a businessman.
• 8:31
  This was all new to me and how to make this work.
• 8:34
  But it was seeing what that service dog had done for that individual who I first met.
• 8:41
  And then I got my first working dog.
• 8:43
  It was prior to Loki.
• 8:44
  His name was Arrow.
• 8:45
  I got my first working dog and got introduced to the true working dog, not a pet dog, not, you know, not little foo-foo, but this was a true working dog.
• 8:55
  And I was seeing what it was doing for me.
• 8:58
  And I haven't been through anything compared to what our veterans and first responders see or see.
• 9:04
  I know you're not supposed to compare traumas or anything like that, but I was just seeing what my dog was doing for me and decided that's I gotta move forward.
• 9:13
  I've got to do this, I've got to make this impact.
• 9:16
  I've got to share the gift that was given to me.
• 9:20
  Now, I don't consider my gift the training side of it.
• 9:23
  I consider myself a novice trainer.
• 9:25
  Everybody sees Loki.
• 9:26
  Yes, I did train Loki, but I leave a chunk, a majority of the training to our training staff because they they've been doing it for many, many years.
• 9:35
  And though I will take some of the dogs into the house and introduce them to Loki and they learn from each other.
• 9:41
  And then we'll, you know, we'll go out, do some public access and things like that.
• 9:46
  But we're blessed with such a strong group of trainers getting these dogs ready.
• 9:52
  And most of most of our trainers all have their own service dogs for one reason or another.
• 9:57
  Right.
• 9:58
  So, so you know, again, we all have those moments, and I just want to take a second because this is what we do, right?
• 10:05
  Your thoughts, your reality.
• 10:06
  Just take a second and and kind of look back at those moments where you go look back 10 years of something that happened, you can look back two years, two days, that changed your life, that decision to move forward.
• 10:20
  Because they don't happen by accident, you you know when something's right, and all of a sudden, when you take that make that decision, you you make it instantly.
• 10:29
  When you take the action, right?
• 10:31
  That's when that's when things actually change and happen.
• 10:34
  And that's it.
• 10:35
  Yeah, taking that first, yeah, taking that first step.
• 10:39
  It was scary.
• 10:42
  You know, as as most people know, I still have a full-time day job.
• 10:46
  So I'm doing that while doing this.
• 10:49
  But again, this is my calling.
• 10:51
  This is what I'm supposed to be doing.
• 10:53
  And it yes, it was scary, but I also had the sense of comfort because I knew it was what I was supposed to be doing, and seeing what it's doing for the veterans and first responders makes it even makes it even easier.
• 11:08
  If I help one person, just one, I've done good in life.
• 11:12
  You know, we're trying to obviously help many more, but getting those first few dogs out in the field and seeing what they're doing, just I mean, it gives me chills.
• 11:22
  Knowing what these dogs are doing, changing these people's lives, and some people's it's saving their lives.
• 11:29
  You know, it's probably saving their lives more than people realize.
• 11:33
  Because the veteran that struggles and doesn't get help, doesn't get relief and goes into isolation, we know it happens.
• 11:40
  So you know, I can say that every one of those dogs probably does has some impact on that itself.
• 11:47
  We have uh veteran in our program, and he was he had a service dog and lost his service dog just to to old age and illness.
• 11:55
  So you can imagine you have that service dog for a reason.
• 11:59
  Now you've lost your best friend.
• 12:01
  So now you have the trauma of the reason needing that dog and the loss of the dog.
• 12:06
  So we were able to get him into the program, and now his dog is living with him full time.
• 12:11
  But he was he was super uh he was going the wrong way.
• 12:17
  You know, when when we have the final interview process as part of the onboarding, whether you're gonna get a dog or not, we let you bring whoever you want, your wife, your kids, whatever.
• 12:26
  And we we go out to the training facility, and you know, he came out, was hyper-vigilant, could not stay still.
• 12:32
  His wife was telling a few stories, you know, concerns of hers.
• 12:36
  And we brought in the dog, which ended up being his, but we wanted to bring in a dog.
• 12:41
  And as soon as that dog crossed the threshold, his eyes lit up, he got on the floor, and they saved each other.
• 12:48
  You know, she ran up to him, went in his went in his lap, and you knew that that was a bond.
• 12:53
  And what made it even better is not too long ago, we kind of did the final turnover.
• 12:58
  The dog's yours.
• 12:59
  We took him out to where one of the schools that did a lot of training with her, the the head trainer or the trainer for her, worked at a small animal school for teaching.
• 13:13
  And at that point, he took the vest that he had made from his final uniform for his other service dog, and he gave it to his current dog.
• 13:23
  So it was, you know, it was that handover wearing, you know, his final uniform turned into a service dog vest, going from his his dog he lost to now his new service dog.
• 13:35
  And it's just absolutely gay.
• 13:38
  I I don't know if somebody was in the room and wasn't in tears, then I don't know what was going on.
• 13:44
  I'm literally feeling emotional just hearing about it, man.
• 13:46
  Yeah, I I can't even it was it was truly amazing.
• 13:53
  Well, that's that's uh I gotta say, gotta be fulfilling, right?
• 13:57
  For you and all the work you do, and all the extra hours and all the stuff that you do, like you said, it's a labor of love.
• 14:02
  But man, that's makes it worth it.
• 14:04
  That's a hell of a it absolutely makes everything we're doing worth it.
• 14:09
  We owe them so much.
• 14:12
  I won't know what they've gone through, you don't know what they've gone through, but we know we owe them for the sacrifices they made, their families made, and they continue to make because you look at a lot of veterans when they get out of the military, a lot of them go become first responders because they still have that giving heart, that mentality to serve.
• 14:33
  And a lot of them become first responders, and now they're seeing additional traumas.
• 14:38
  So it's yeah, it's it's it's unbelievable.
• 14:41
  And to smile, people ask, why do you smile all the time?
• 14:44
  Because I'm doing what God called me to do, and I'm helping save people's lives in some instances, but just letting them get back to the life they wanted, they deserve, they used to have.
• 14:56
  That's why I smile.
• 14:58
  Amen.
• 14:59
  Amen.
• 14:59
  Absolutely, absolutely love that.
• 15:01
  And it's the same reason I'm doing what I'm doing.
• 15:04
  You know, it's it's it's it's it's just the most fulfilling thing I've done in my life, period.
• 15:10
  Yeah, yeah, mine as well.
• 15:12
  You know, you can you can have a nice house, nice cars, all the different things, whatever it is, but man, there's nothing.
• 15:18
  And and by the way, that that lasts that fulfillment lasts for about you know a month, right?
• 15:23
  When you get something, yeah, but the feeling in your soul, man, that lasts forever.
• 15:28
  So it's uh yeah, to to know that you've changed somebody's life, maybe forever.
• 15:35
  And when I get the revisit and go see some of the handlers and their dogs, because they come to some of our events or or I may see them just we might do a little extra training just to see where they were when they first got their dog to where they are now.
• 15:51
  It's yeah, it's it's it's amazing.
• 15:55
  So, so let's pivot a little bit here.
• 15:58
  So, uh, you know, we're we're here to talk about legacy.
• 16:01
  And so I'd like to ask you, I know obviously this is this is your legacy, right?
• 16:05
  I mean or part of it, I shouldn't say this.
• 16:09
  So, what is legacy that the 10th silent war?
• 16:12
  And and I find even for myself, this is becoming more and more prevalent as I'm getting a little bit older and all that stuff.
• 16:17
  And I was 20, I didn't give a shit, you know, but now it obviously becomes more important, right?
• 16:22
  So, what is it, what does the 10th silent war legacy uh mean to you personally?
• 16:27
  So there's a couple different ones.
• 16:30
  The the one I I've said for many, many years is I've got three kids.
• 16:36
  And if I can leave this world with three good kids who are making their own impact, I've done good.
• 16:42
  When the internet first came around, I got, I don't know if it was an email where I saw it, it said, When you die, there'll be two dates on your headstone separated by a dash.
• 16:50
  And that dash is your life.
• 16:52
  I told my kids I don't want a dash.
• 16:55
  I want when I was born, he was a good father, and when I died.
• 16:59
  So that's one legacy.
• 17:01
  The other legacy, and with my board members, they're helping me make this a reality.
• 17:05
  I want to stand canine heroes for heroes to be around for many years after I'm gone.
• 17:10
  I don't care if anybody knows who Joe Giante is.
• 17:13
  You can know, but if you know canine heroes for heroes is making an impact on others' lives, that's that's all I could ask for.
• 17:21
  I I'm not in this for me.
• 17:22
  If you follow me on social media, you see I don't do anything under Joe Giante.
• 17:27
  It's under Canine Heroes for Heroes.
• 17:29
  I may share a few things just to get a little cross promotion to get you know to get more exposure, but I don't care if people know who I am.
• 17:37
  I tell people I'm on the dumb end of the leash, Loki just brings me along.
• 17:43
  I love it.
• 17:44
  I love it.
• 17:44
  And and so, how important is legacy to you?
• 17:49
  To me personally, it's not.
• 17:52
  To the organization, it's what I'm saying.
• 17:55
  So the legacy organization.
• 17:57
  Yeah.
• 17:58
  I I mean, I'm gonna be forgotten.
• 17:59
  That's just the way life is.
• 18:00
  My kids are gonna eventually forget, you know, most of the things when I'm gone.
• 18:04
  The grandkids will.
• 18:05
  It's that's just the way life is.
• 18:07
  And and that's okay.
• 18:09
  I know where I'm going when this experiment ends.
• 18:11
  You know, I'm gonna go to a better place.
• 18:14
  But canine Heroes for Heroes could be around 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, who knows how many years if we stand it up correctly.
• 18:21
  And and with my board, they've there, we've got some really tech savvy, business savvy individuals on it because I don't consider myself tech savvy or business savvy, but we're making it work.
• 18:32
  And I just I really want it to be around.
• 18:34
  I want people to go, oh, K9 Heroes for Heroes.
• 18:37
  I know who they are.
• 18:38
  That's one of the biggest compliments I get when we're out in public.
• 18:41
  Oh, I follow you.
• 18:43
  And they're not following Joe Gianti, they're following K9 Heroes for Heroes, and it just makes me so happy to know I just had that yesterday.
• 18:50
  I can't remember where I was.
• 18:51
  I might have been at the grocery store.
• 18:53
  And someone says, Oh, yeah, I follow K9 Heroes for Heroes.
• 18:56
  Like, well, thank you.
• 18:57
  And that's just thank you.
• 18:59
  Amen.
• 19:00
  Amen, man.
• 19:01
  So, so you know, with that said, people that aren't familiar with and we're we're pivoting here.
• 19:08
  People that aren't familiar with what the dogs do, how it works, um, I if we can, because I want to talk about pay nine heroes for heroes, obviously, and specifically.
• 19:18
  So, how do you how do you, if you're a vet a first responder, how do you come in and find out if you're if you can get a dog, what it looks like, you know, what the process looks like if you look at it.
• 19:30
  Yeah.
• 19:31
  So we have an application that is that we'll send to the the veteran or first responder.
• 19:36
  They'll find us however they find us.
• 19:38
  It could be social media, they could just send me an email from the website, and there's kind of an initial form: are you a veteran?
• 19:45
  Just very basic information and where you're located.
• 19:48
  And I'll send the full application.
• 19:50
  And there's it's pretty extensive.
• 19:52
  We got it from another service dog company called MUTS with a mission.
• 19:55
  When I started canine Heroes for Heroes, they reached out and said, Hey, why should you start over?
• 19:59
  Here's our application, make it yours.
• 20:01
  So what a blessing.
• 20:04
  So they'll fill out that yeah, they'll fill out that application.
• 20:06
  It's got DD214 information, medical information, your daily life.
• 20:11
  We need to know what is a day in the life of you, and then what are some of the reasons you you believe you would benefit from a service to all?
• 20:19
  So once we get that application back, myself and the board will review the application.
• 20:24
  If we all agree, hey, this person is deserving, the next step is we bring them out to the training facility, and I'll have several of the board members there that were veterans or spent time overseas so that they can have more of a personal conversation with them.
• 20:40
  I'm there, obviously, but now they can kind of talk and you know it's it's fun to see them same vernacular, chew on the same dirt, all that kind of thing.
• 20:52
  So we'll have that conversation.
• 20:53
  And they can bring whoever they want, they can bring their spouse, their kids, whoever they want to be part of that conversation.
• 21:00
  Once that's done, then the board will reconvene.
• 21:02
  Yes, this individual meets all the criteria.
• 21:06
  We will let them know hey, you have been approved for the dog.
• 21:10
  Now the real work begins.
• 21:12
  Now we've got a couple dogs, try to keep them being trained up this whole time so that when that approval process happens, it's not long between that and they're actually getting their dog.
• 21:22
  Because we have to take, we get these dogs from puppies and we're training them up and we have to make sure they're gonna pass, make it through the program.
• 21:30
  There's a 40 to 70 percent range of dogs not making it through the program.
• 21:35
  You and I had a conversation offline.
• 21:38
  We just recently washed one of the dogs out of the program.
• 21:40
  She just turned out she's gonna be a great house pet to somebody that we've we've already rehomed her to, but just not service dog quality.
• 21:48
  Once we realize and believe they're gonna make it through the program, then we'll start introducing the handler.
• 21:55
  And I say handler because they are basically becoming a handler, they're learning how to handle their dog.
• 22:00
  And the dog's learning what they need to do for that individual.
• 22:03
  Because what gives a service dog all the rights and responsibilities that they have above a therapy dog, above emotional support dog, is they're actually performing work.
• 22:13
  That's what makes them a service dog.
• 22:15
  Whether that's behavior interruption, whether that's stability, mobility, or picking things up.
• 22:21
  One woman in our program, her dog, she has mobility issues.
• 22:24
  Her dog picks up her medicine, her dog picks up her own leash.
• 22:28
  We've got several individuals with PTSD.
• 22:31
  The dog learns what that trigger is and interrupts that behavior.
• 22:35
  By interrupting that behavior, it takes them out of their own mind, brings them back to the present.
• 22:40
  They now have the dog to focus on instead of what their thoughts were.
• 22:44
  And Joe, I want to stop you just for a second, right there.
• 22:46
  So I want everybody to understand something.
• 22:48
  This is neurone coding at its best.
• 22:50
  And they this is, I'm getting chills right now, just thinking about it.
• 22:54
  And we were talking about this before.
• 22:55
  It's neurolinguistic programming, these dogs do.
• 22:59
  They break the pattern, and then they're there to, and I'll have Joe, of course, go into that, but they're there to put in something good and change it.
• 23:06
  What's called a scotoma.
• 23:07
  When you have a pattern interrupt and you get a scotoma, you're you basically have a blank spot in your brain that needs to be filled.
• 23:14
  And that's what he's going to explain right now.
• 23:16
  It's been what the dog does uh after that pattern interrupt.
• 23:19
  Go ahead, please.
• 23:20
  Yeah, because it's it's like you said, it's getting them out of their own head, it's bringing them back to the present.
• 23:26
  Now they have another life to focus on.
• 23:29
  This is an older video on my YouTube channel of our head trainer Travis, who spent about eight years in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.
• 23:37
  And he narrates this video.
• 23:39
  He's in a waiting room and he's got his dog Cairo between his legs.
• 23:42
  And if you don't know what you're looking for, you almost don't even see it.
• 23:46
  As he's narrating where his mind's going, you can see Cairo just picks her nose up and just nudges him a little bit, and that breaks his focus.
• 23:54
  Now, it can be something as a simple nudge, or it can be muzzle punching for a lack of a better word, to you know, get you out of your mind.
• 24:03
  It can be deep pressure therapy where the dog is laying across you.
• 24:06
  That's a big one for night terrors, where the dog will come and lay across somebody and break them out of that cycle.
• 24:12
  But like you both, like you said, and I said, it's taking them out of their mind, it's allowing them to focus on something else.
• 24:19
  And we were talking about blueberry earlier.
• 24:21
  Everybody loves blueberry, she's such a little doll.
• 24:24
  But that face, how can you not, when you see that face right there, bring you out of wherever your mind was and into a very safe, happy place.
• 24:36
  Yeah, and you feel it.
• 24:37
  You you feel it when the dog's there, just like the dog is feeling what you're going through, the dog gives you that back, right?
• 24:43
  And gives you that love fear for you.
• 24:46
  And it's it's I can't even I guess the word is just beautiful because it's it's perfection, if you will, because it's just that marriage, right?
• 24:56
  Yeah, and you think about it, no matter what, pet dog, sport dog, service dog, they are happy to see us.
• 25:04
  Good day, bad day, they're happy to see us.
• 25:07
  We mistreat them, they're happy to see us, which I hate that that people do that, but it's the reality of life.
• 25:14
  They are happy to see us regardless.
• 25:17
  And we need to be the people they know we can be.
• 25:22
  Absolutely.
• 25:23
  I I strive every day, not just for my family, but to be the handler, the owner, the father, whatever terminology you want to use for Loki, because he deserves that, because of everything he's given to me.
• 25:38
  Yeah.
• 25:38
  And we'll be right back because I don't walk my dogs right now, no.
• 25:45
  Um, so so uh we've got about, I think about four or five minutes left.
• 25:49
  So if we can, will you will you kind of just fast forward a little bit?
• 25:53
  So someone has met the dog, we find out that you know they're they're a match, they're approved.
• 25:59
  What happens from there if you can do that in about two minutes?
• 26:01
  Yeah.
• 26:02
  So what we do then is it's a gradual introduction to their home.
• 26:05
  They're gonna come to the training facility, they're gonna learn the commands, the dog's gonna learn them.
• 26:10
  That's gonna happen over several weeks, and then the dog will go home for them for maybe a weekend and come back, we'll do some more training.
• 26:17
  Then it maybe go home for a week, come back, do some more training.
• 26:20
  It's a slow integration because we want to make sure it's a fit for everybody.
• 26:24
  And then once everybody's comfortable, the dog's gonna go home and live with them.
• 26:28
  We'll make some home visits for more training.
• 26:31
  We'll meet them out, do public access, find out what they like to do.
• 26:35
  Blueberry's handler is still a pistol instructor.
• 26:37
  So blueberry, like Loki, is comfortable wearing ear pro, eye pro, and being out on a range.
• 26:43
  So it's it's that gradual, yeah, it's that gradual introduction into their home to where they're living there permanently.
• 26:51
  And that's why dogs, our dogs often go from this handler to that handler to this handler.
• 26:56
  So they're not they're not bonding as much with us.
• 26:59
  They're they're learning what they need to do because we want that final bond to be with their handler.
• 27:04
  Absolutely love it.
• 27:05
  So, so with that said, you know, I just want people to realize, hey guys, it's not a dog that goes through three weeks of training and gets put with a veteran and you hope for the best.
• 27:17
  This is a long, thought-out process that really focuses not only on the veteran, but the dog too, to make sure Joe, Joe's, Joe's giving his babies out there.
• 27:28
  So, you know, want to make sure they're the right fit for everybody.
• 27:31
  And I love I love how careful you are about to do that.
• 27:35
  Yeah.
• 27:36
  And we we want to do quality of dogs, not quantity.
• 27:39
  The one thing we didn't discuss yet, and I'm watching Loki come downstairs right now.
• 27:42
  The one thing we did discuss is these dogs are about$35,000 per dog.
• 27:48
  And the veteran of first responder pays none of that.
• 27:50
  We are a 501c3 nonprofit.
• 27:54
  We make, you know, we get all our money through fundraising, through donations, things of that nature.
• 28:00
  And when people hear that$35,000, they kind of freak out and they think, well, I don't have that kind of money.
• 28:05
  Every dollar helps.
• 28:07
  One dollar to a million dollars.
• 28:08
  We're not gonna turn anything down because it is all about the dogs.
• 28:13
  None of our board members, myself, make anything off the nonprofit.
• 28:17
  I would like someday to be able to do this full time and and be able to take a salary, but right now we're putting everything back into the dogs because and the veterans.
• 28:27
  That's that's what's most important to all of us.
• 28:29
  I I I love that you say that.
• 28:31
  And I'm gonna I'm gonna put this out there as well as when you are able to, you know, when that time comes, as your your mission grows and you are able to do this full-time, imagine how much more you can do.
• 28:41
  So I'm excited for you.
• 28:43
  I I think that all the time.
• 28:45
  Yeah, you know, I I see what I'm able to do, I see what I'm able to do part-time.
• 28:50
  Yeah, you know, my mind can go to the places that will allow me, where will it be when it's full-time?
• 28:56
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 28:56
  And and I Joe, I see you, and and people that follow you.
• 29:00
  Everybody, please follow, follow K-Mack.
• 29:02
  You're gonna get some more information in just a second.
• 29:05
  But I mean, Joe's everywhere.
• 29:07
  I mean, he is at baseball games, he's at uh car show.
• 29:11
  I mean, you name it, Joe's there.
• 29:13
  You know, I don't, I literally, I thought I was uh one of the busiest persons in the world that I know.
• 29:19
  You're busier, my friend.
• 29:21
  I I definitely keep I keep busy.
• 29:23
  Loki doesn't let me get bored.
• 29:25
  Amen.
• 29:26
  Amen.
• 29:26
  And vice versa, I'm sure.
• 29:28
  So um, so I just want to go through one uh final question here.
• 29:32
  Um, through your work, what have you witnessed about the emotional connection between service dogs and veterans struggling with the invisible wounds?
• 29:40
  What I what I really want to hear is how it really helps.
• 29:44
  What have you seen with that emotional connection?
• 29:48
  So, yeah, absolutely.
• 29:50
  It it and they it is that invisible wound.
• 29:53
  People see, they'll see a veteran with a dog and other, and I've heard comments like this.
• 29:57
  Oh, that there's nothing wrong with him.
• 29:58
  No, it's it's not all physical.
• 30:01
  We are seeing them be able to go out in public, be able to go to stores.
• 30:06
  Sage and her handler, he was sending me all kinds of pictures.
• 30:09
  He was at the eye doctor, comfortable because Sage was right beside him.
• 30:15
  Debbie in our program with her dog Bella, she's attended a few of those baseball games with us, and that is huge for her to be around those crowds, to be around a group of men.
• 30:27
  It is huge for her.
• 30:28
  And she is comfortable because Bella is with her.
• 30:31
  That's what people don't realize.
• 30:32
  It's it's not there.
• 30:34
  Sometimes they see a dog like they'll see Loki on the ground sleeping.
• 30:37
  Oh, he's not a service dog, he's not doing anything.
• 30:39
  He will when he needs to.
• 30:41
  And just like Bella and Sage and Blueberry and TJ, they're they're all out there doing a service for their handler that goes unseen by most.
• 30:56
  But the big one is just it's letting them live that life again.
• 30:59
  It's letting them get out there, get out in public.
• 31:03
  You know, we teach, and I know we're running out of time, we teach a block and a cover where the dog may be in the front or the dog in the back.
• 31:09
  That veteran or first responder may want to be out there, but they still need that distance.
• 31:13
  And that dog is able to provide that separation.
• 31:16
  And they and it's amazing.
• 31:18
  They're just they're doing they're talking, and they forget that they at one point had an issue with that because they've got the comfort of the dog.
• 31:26
  Yeah, it's it really is a game changer.
• 31:28
  It really is a game changer.
• 31:30
  So so, Joe, for people listening who feel connected to your mission, like like I do, what is the best way for them to support you, learn more about canine heroes for heroes, and get involved?
• 31:40
  So we're on all the social media platforms.
• 31:42
  Our website is k9h4h.org.
• 31:45
  Just no, there we go, can9h4h.org.
• 31:47
  There's ways you can reach out to us there.
• 31:49
  There's a donate button, there's a way you can email because we understand not everybody can afford to financially support our organization.
• 31:57
  Maybe you can introduce us to somebody, maybe you can hold a fundraiser for us, or a golf outing.
• 32:03
  We've got an off-gap golf outing coming up that uh Sage Integration is putting on for us.
• 32:08
  That's where Sage, her name came from.
• 32:10
  They raised enough money for a whole dog.
• 32:12
  So we're on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
• 32:17
  So all the platforms have all my information on there.
• 32:19
  Somebody can reach out, and you're gonna get me, and we can talk and discuss ways to help.
• 32:24
  But you know, again, like I had said earlier, every dollar counts from a dollar to a million.
• 32:31
  You know, what it I and I love seeing we have the little donation jar at our table and events.
• 32:37
  That person that puts a dollar in there, I know that was a lot for them, and and we appreciate it.
• 32:42
  It no amount goes unappreciated.
• 32:46
  Absolutely love it.
• 32:47
  So, so please, people, you know, there are all kinds of ways support financially, donating time, meeting, introducing people, uh, just following and building their mission even more.
• 32:59
  You know, please.
• 33:00
  So, as we know, time is the most precious resource we have as human beings and can't get time back.
• 33:05
  So thank you for spending this moment in time to help our mission and make a difference.
• 33:10
  I truly appreciate it.
• 33:12
  Thank you, brother.
• 33:12
  I appreciate it.
• 33:14
  Absolutely.
• 33:14
  So if something in today's conversation resonated with you, don't just move on to the next thing.
• 33:20
  Sit with it for a minute.
• 33:22
  And if you know someone who may need to hear this, share this episode with them.
• 33:27
  You can also join us at your thoughtsyorreality.com where we continue these conversations around identity, transition, resilience, and growth.
• 33:34
  And remember, your thoughts shape your reality.
• 33:38
  We're out of here.
• 33:41
  Thank you for joining us on another insightful journey of the Your Thoughts, your reality podcast with your host, Michael Cole.
• 33:48
  We hope the conversation sparks some thoughts that resonate with you.
• 33:51
  To dive deeper into empowering your thoughts and enhancing your reality, visit empower performance strategies.com.
• 33:58
  Remember your thoughts create your reality and make them happen.
• 34:03
  Until next time, stay inspired.
• 34:05
  And if you keep creating the reality, you desire.