Paws and Stripes

Mission Statement: To assist U.S. military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as local shelter dogs by providing integrative service dog training and mental health support to veterans and their families.

Paws and Stripes™ was founded in 2010 by Jim and Lindsey Stanek after Jim was medically discharged from the US Army. As an Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division, Jim was severely injured during his third deployment to Iraq and spent nine months at an Army hospital in San Antonio. Lindsey soon realized how local therapy dogs eased the effects of his disabilities. In 2010, Jim and his rescue Sarge became Paws and Stripes' first graduate from the program. Since its founding, the couple have played very public roles in raising awareness for PTSD and TBI, appearing on public media outlets from the Oprah Winfrey Show to Lisa Ling's Our America. Currently the program has over 650 veterans and their families awaiting funding on its wait list to enroll in the program.