At Shelter to Soldier, 1-year-old lab mix Raider has been undergoing “special training” since April of this year.
It’s all for one very exciting job: to become the first-ever “morale dog” to join active-duty Marines and sailors on USS Makin Island.
For the past decade, the San Diego nonprofit has trained shelter dogs as psychiatric service animals for United States veterans.
When the training director, Nicky Moore, started bringing therapy dogs to Navy ships for special outings, the crews had one request.
“Every single time it was like, ‘I really wish we had a dog that stayed on board.’ Like, ‘Can we take this dog on deployment with us?’ And so we just kind of were like, ‘Actually yeah,’” Moore told NBC San Diego.
Raider was the perfect fit.
Adopted from Labs and More Rescue, he’s been highly focused on training for the past few months and will now join a team of five handlers — in his own room on board — to reside on the ship full-time.
Since April, he’s been training to go to the bathroom on a “potty patch,” learning how to wear booties to protect his feet from hot surfaces, wearing eye protection, and just getting used to all the noises on the ship, Moore explained.
He’s also been learning all kinds of commands and preparing to receive first aid and be groomed by his handlers.
If all goes according to plan, Raider is set to join the Makin Island Naval Base San Diego at the end of next month. When the base deploys, he’ll go with them.
His official title is indeed “Morale Dog,” with the initiative “designed to support the emotional wellness, morale, and mental health of sailors and marines,” according to a Facebook post from Shelter to Soldier.
He will offer support through “structured interaction, presence, and engagement,” and, like other Shelter to Soldier ambassadors, will support trauma recovery therapy, participate in group sessions, visit service members’ families, and offer moments of connection and care “when it’s needed most,” according to the nonprofit.
“The need for mental health support among active-duty Navy service members is more urgent than ever,” Shelter to Soldier continued in the Facebook post.
“Raider’s role aboard the USS Makin Island helps address this crisis by fostering camaraderie within the crew, reducing operational stress, and increasing awareness for shipboard wellness and behavioral health services.”
Morale dog services appear to be unaffiliated with the official Department of Defense, with Shelter to Soldier thanking individual donors for sponsoring Raider’s placement in their social media posts.
Additionally, Raider’s training has been going so well that other ships — and sponsors — have been inspired to partner with the organization for the same purpose, according to another recent social media post.
Lady, another black lab rescue from the same organization that saved Raider, has begun training to support the USS Boxer.
“She’s already a star,” the organization added.
You may also like: Dogs offer stress relief, even in tele-therapy settings, according to new study
Header images courtesy of Shelter to Soldier/Facebook
