TAMPA, Fla. — Some Tampa Bay area veterans got a special dose of puppy love ahead of Valentine's Day.
On Friday morning, a team of instructors from Southeastern Guide Dogs brought a group of service dogs in training to visit the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.
The pups offered veterans hugs and practiced their skills by retrieving different Valentine's Day gifts.
In addition to spreading the love, the purpose of this event was to show how these dogs can provide life-changing support to veterans in need.
"Trained service dogs can be an essential lifeline for veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder or other disabilities," Southeastern Guide Dogs wrote in a release. "They offer love and loyalty and help restore stability, well-being, and hope."
Outings like this early Valentine's Day visit are helpful for the pups, too. The dogs in training benefit from being exposed to a new environment where they can practice their skills.
Southeastern Guide Dogs also got a chance to show how beneficial a group therapy dog can be.
"What we're more focused on today is showcasing what a facility therapy dog does. So, instead of being a dog that's paired with one individual, a therapy dog's job is to spread joy and cheer to a larger organization," Emily Dombrowski, the organization's director of training, said.
Southeastern Guide Dogs has a variety of programs to pair veterans with different types of service dogs that could benefit them. The organization provides guide dogs for veterans with vision loss, service dogs for those with PTSD or other disabilities, facility therapy dogs and Gold Star Family dogs for military children and families who have lost a loved one in service.