Detroit man to restart dog rescue that trains pets for veterans with PTSD

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Walter Hart Jr. is looking to connect local vets with a new pet.

"I want to give back to the city of Detroit, my talents again with the help of people I can do it, I can be successful," he said.  

Walter ran "Canine Companions Limited," on Detroit’s west side off Tyler Street. For about a decade his team trained therapy dogs for senior citizens, law enforcement, and veterans. But they eventually had to close the nonprofit.

"The finance wasn’t there and the help wasn’t there," he said. "We were definitely struggling, trying to raise money to get it going there."  

Still, Walter trained dogs all over the country for a living and through his nonprofit, always, had a soft spot for veterans – his father fought in Vietnam and his son in the Army.  

"I always used to train dogs for veterans but it wasn’t as serious as it has been in four, five years," he said. "When he came out, he was disabled with PTSD." 

Now, he’s heading into retirement and wants to spend that time re-igniting the dream of opening back up in Detroit, off Tyler Street, a property they still own.  

"My dream is to see veterans come in and out of there with certificates in training and training dogs for other veterans with PTSD," he said.

Veterans helping veterans - and he is even planning to use rescue dogs right from Detroit – as therapy dogs, with the right training. Right now, the first step is getting the property back into shape.

"Volunteers to help us clean, (the) next moves would be raising money for the kennels and then go from there," he said.  

For more information on Canine Companions Limited GO HERE.