Operation Heroes & Hounds is a program that offers injured members of the United States armed forces the opportunity to live with and coach (play-train) shelter dogs. Participants include the “walking wounded” of the US military suffering from non-visible ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Shelter dogs that are chosen for the program need to be coached (play-trained) to be well-mannered dogs, which the wounded warriors accomplish through the kind, nonaggressive teaching of The Loved Dog method. For the first time since being in the war zone, the soldiers get to practice being loving as oppose to being tough and experience the joy of expended identity beyond being a professional fighter. Together the soldiers and dogs can heal their emotional wounds while gaining new life skills.

Coming back from war where soldiers have to fight for their survival at every moment, to civilian life which requires completely different skill sets, is very difficult and confusing. Through the Operation Heroes & Hounds program service members gain a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and life skills to aid their transition back into society. Shelter dogs learn canine good manners, experience the joy of being loved, and have an increased chance of adoption into a forever home.

The pilot program of Operation Heroes & Hounds was implemented to aid wounded Marines at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. The hope is that this program will be offered to members of the armed forces and shelter dogs across the country.

Operation Heroes & Hounds is a program of The Loved World Foundation by Tamar Geller which was founded in 2007. Tamar is called a life coach for dogs and their people, by her client Oprah Winfrey and many other celebrities. She is also a best-selling author of the book “The Loved Dog” and the creator of The Loved Dog coaching (training) method. As an ex-Intelligence officer with the Israeli Special Forces, Tamar was driven by a desire to improve the quality of lives of people and animals in need. She discovered by uncovering the power of love that comes to light through understanding each other, that man and dog can both recover from trauma by letting them develop a strong bond.

Operation Heroes & Hounds provides service members and homeless dogs an opportunity to heal their emotional wounds together so they can have a bright future ahead of them.

For more information visit: tamargeller.com under Outreach.