"They get to overcome working all the problems with the dog, they can mess up and the dog still loves them. They can have a bad day and we still help them through it."
-Joni Bonilla, Operation at Ease Founder
Joni Bonilla was looking for a service dog for a friend of hers and couldn't believe it when she says every phone call she made informed her that there was a waiting list of three to five years, or if the veteran wanted to pay for the service dog themselves it would cost $18,000 to $20,000.
Bonilla, who is a dog trainer with many ties to the veterans community, decided to take action. So began Operation at Ease, a program that works with veterans to train shelter dogs to become service animals. And it's done at no cost to the veteran.
In this podcast Bonilla talks about the Americans with Disability Act, dog training, bravery and more.
For more information: https://www.operationatease.org/
Photo: Getty Images