An organization helping Veterans live a full life after their service in the U.S. Military wants to connect Veterans and dogs through intensive training and group therapy. 

The Mission First K9 Program, administered by Off-Road Outreach, is a specialized program that pairs rescued dogs with Veterans facing post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and military sexual trauma, by providing free service-dog training, support and rehabilitation. 

“We give Veterans purpose,” said Kristen Botts, the co-founder and program director of Mission First K9. “We give dogs a second chance, and communities a path to healing. We focus on rescue dogs, giving them a safe path to a meaningful home.”

Kristen co-founded the program with her husband, Nathan Botts, who is a Veteran himself. 

The first round of the program to be held locally will start in early March. Another opportunity will come around in August, Kristen said. 

“Each one is eight weeks long. Each week we meet on a Tuesday, they [the meetings] are two and a half hours long,” Kristen said. “That is one and a half hours of intensive canine and handler training, followed by dinner and then followed by an hour of group therapy.”

Each week, the training will intensify, aiming to bring Veterans out of their comfort zone and using the lessons learned in previous sessions. 

“At the end of the eight weeks, they then have a graduation where they graduate with their canine good citizenship certification, and we celebrate the heck out of them with a big party and their certification process,” Kristen said. “And it’s a lot of fun.”

In the past two years, 52 Veterans and canines have graduated from the program. 

Kristen and Nathan Botts created the program around five years ago under a different name in Spokane, Washington. Their program motto is “15 seconds of courage,” a mantra meant to signify that there is bravery in taking a first step toward finding solutions for yourself. 

“Basically, we want them to take that first step, that first 15 seconds of being able to step forward, making the first step,” Kristen Botts said. “Because the next step becomes easier as you go.” 

Kristen Botts has 20 years of animal rescue experience and five years of professional K9 handling and assistant-instructor work. Her handler training includes therapy dogs, service dogs and tactical K9s specializing in detection and trailing. 

Her previous program in Spokane helped teams of Veterans and their dogs develop the skills needed for service dog work. 

The program is a part of the programs offered by Off-Road Outreach, an organization that wants to help Veterans with the challenges they face when they exit their life of service. Some of that work comes via community engagement, helping create support networks for Veterans and their families. The organization also provides programs to prevent and address homelessness and mental health issues. 

Those types of programs are made possible in part by Veterans with lived experience and a willingness to help. 

For Nathan Botts, his bond with his dog Angel “saved his life.”

“Being a Veteran myself, this is more dear than anything to me because it was also a dog that I would say saved my life,” Nathan said. 

He had just retired from the U.S. Army and landed a security job that included work canine units. Nathan’s work with the units and his bond with Angel helped him find a new career path.

“And as we started going, I just continued training. And next thing I know, I’m going through a certification program to become a master canine trainer in Las Vegas,” he said. “Now I have gone through multiple certification courses with dogs, and I have a bachelor’s degree in animal behavior and animal science. I am working on my master’s in that too.” 

Dogs, Nathan shared, can help give Veterans purpose. Dogs help Veterans go outside and participate in joint activities. 

“When you’re feeling upset, especially with PTSD, they’ll start nudging you,” Nathan said.  “They’ll start drawing you out of that dark hole that you’re in at that time. Angel helped me out.”

At that time, Nathan Botts felt his demons were trying to keep him in that dark slump. Every time he felt pulled down, Angel was there for him.

“She brought me out. She made me want to walk,” he noted. “She made me want to do things. I had surgery on my lower back, and within a month, she had me walking around Liberty Lake up in Alaska.”

To participate in the program, reach out to Kristen and Nathan. 

“Let us know that you’re interested. We will contact you and conduct an interview, and we will send you an application for you to fill out. If we feel like the program will be a good fit for you, then we will move forward with finding you a proper dog for the program. Unless you already have one that we have checked out and we have assessed to make sure that they are the proper dog for what your needs are.”

To sign up for the program, interested Veterans can contact Kristen and Nathan at missionfirstk9@yahoo.com.