Southwest Indiana Chapter

Pets For Vets Southwest Indiana

Mission

We enrich the lives of Veterans by creating a Super Bond® with custom trained working animals.

Portland Chapter is a
Nonprofit Organization

+ Service Area Highlighted In Blue

About Our Chapter

This is the official site of the Southwest Indiana Chapter of Pets for Vets. This chapter serves the following counties:

Indiana: Davies, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick.

Illinois: Edwards, Lawrence, Wabash, and White

Kentucky: Davies, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster

Meet Chapter Director Marti Vanada

Marti Vanada had extensive personal experience with the healing and motivational power of dogs and wanted to use her love for them to help others. When she discovered Pets for Vets, she knew she found the perfect organization to do just that. Volunteerism and community service have played a significant role in Marti's life. She is passionate about helping others and has volunteered in several different capacities including raising service dog puppies and working everywhere from soup kitchens and elementary schools to American Red Cross emergency areas and FEMA disaster zones.

In 1992, Marti fulfilled her childhood dream of working with service dogs when she began working with a local search and rescue team. Training her mixed-breed dog for wilderness search eventually led to her obtaining a new dedicated search and rescue dog as well as certification in the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team in Indianapolis, IN.

Marti and her beloved search and rescue dog Polly (a Border Collie and Golden Retriever cross) were deployed to Ground Zero in New York in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attack. The experience was life-changing and made her realize that Polly’s nose was not her only asset. Marti watched as firefighters approached Polly, dropped to their knees, and buried their faces in her coat. Some sobbed, some hugged her, but all received an emotional release from the comfort of a dog.

With this firsthand knowledge, Marti knows pairing shelter dogs with returning Veterans is a win-win situation. She supports animal rights and believes that Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana’s work will help reduce the overcrowding and euthanizing of dogs in area shelters. Marti is anxious to put her love of dogs and desire to help others to work, and excited to grow Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana!

Matches From Southwest
Indiana Chapter

Pat and Sadie

OH MY GOODNESS……OH MY GOODNESS.....I REALLY AM GOING TO GET ME A COMPANION! I'M SO EXCITED! I can't believe that this is really going to happen. Thank you s...

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Cathy Mcdonough Drake

Cathy McDonough Drake received her robo dog, Bingo, shortly before she died at age 96. Cathy was a former Army nurse whose experiences and service at a Mobile A...

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George and Romeo

George served in the Army from 1958 to 1962 at Fort Knox. Unable to have a live cat, George chose a robo cat he named Romeo.

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Gene and Sarge

Gene served in the Army from 1967 to 1970 in VietNam. He is unable to have a live pet so he jumped at the chance to have a robo dog which he named Sarge. Thank ...

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News

Southwest Indiana Chapter featured on Tristate

October 31, 2016

Nextstar Broadcasting featured an awesome segment with Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana. Watch the video here!

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In Loving Memory of John Studer

We miss our friend John Studer, a Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana trainer who had a very tender, concerned way about him and was so eager to learn. He shadowed a trainer for weeks before he stepped out on his own, and trained Cheyenne in the spring of 2015—a Veteran-pet match that couldn't be better. Sadly, John became ill shortly after that placement. We sincerely appreciate his efforts and camaraderie during his time with Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana. Thanks for everything, John.

Libby's new pups

Libby was adopted from Warrick Humane Society as a companion for Eric, a veteran in his sixties plagued with sleeplessness and anxiety. Her quiet demeanor and the peace in her golden eyes was a perfect match for her veteran. Unlike most veterans, Eric had a chance to meet Libby soon after she was adopted and placed with a Pets for Vets trainer. Eric and Libby connected instantly—love at first sight, and Eric could hardly wait for the training period to end so she could be his.

Past Events

Angel Meeting

We got Angel, one of the companions in training, out to the Honoring Women Veterans Conference. Was nice meeting some of our local women veterans.

CAR Meeting

Evansville IN CAR invited SW IN Pets for Vets to the November meeting. Veteran Matt & Lucy were the guest speakers. The children asked many excellent questions of Matt, both about his service and about Lucy. Director Marti gave the CAR members information about Pets for Vets. We were presented with a check, blankets and goodie bags for dogs in shelters. A huge thank you to the local CAR organization!

Membership Meeting

Our monthly membership meeting, open to the public. Free Admission, and kid friendly.

Veterans Day Parade

Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana participated in the Veterans Day Parade in Evansville, IN. More than 170 units were also there to celebrate and honor Veterans, and the Newburgh Heritage Girls Troop joined Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana on the float to throw candy and show their support. Thank you, Evansville, and all the organizations that were there for our Veterans!

Memorial Day Festival

Evansville’s first annual Memorial Day Festival was held May 30 at Garvin Park. The event included a 5K Run/Walk, performances by local bands, a bounce house and games for kids, and food vendors. Many different Veterans organizations (including Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana) participated, and lots of people stopped by our table for information.

Indiana's Run for the Fallen

13–15, 2016, Veterans ran from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis and saluted 144 fallen brothers and sisters at Indiana's Run for the Fallen. Veteran Eric and his Pets for Vets dog, Sloopy, ran for the second year. (Sloopy was the first ever dog selected to run with the Veterans!)

Spoiled Rotten Pet Grooming Promotion

For the culmination of a six-week promotion at Spoiled Rotten Pet Grooming in Evansville, IN, Pets for Vets Southwest Indiana manned a table inside the grooming shop. The shop made a monetary donation, and Blue Buffalo donated dog food and funds to our organization.

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