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Service dogs are impressive animals, and veterans are some of the people who can benefit from them the most. But service dogs are in high demand, and it costs about $5,000 just to train one dog for duty.

Enter Healing Paws for Warriors. The Florida organization is asking residents to donate new or used shoes to raise money to train more service dogs for post-9/11 veterans.

Photo Credit: WEAR TV

The dogs help veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, or military sexual trauma. These issues affect a huge proportion of veterans – almost 31 percent of Vietnam veterans alone are affected by post-traumatic stress syndrome, per the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs. A shocking 22 veterans die by suicide each day.

Service dogs can seriously help these issues – and Healing Paws for Warriors provides them at no cost to veterans.

Photo Credit: WEAR TV

These aren’t just any service dogs, either! Healing Paws for Warriors takes dogs from local rescues and trains them for duty. With approximately 3.3 million dogs entering shelters each year, this organization’s mission is a classic win-win.

The non-profit gets $10 for every 25 pairs of shoes that are donated – so if you have a spare pair lying around and you happen to live in Florida, why not help out? Drop-off locations are in Santa Rosa County, Florida and Okaloosa, Florida. You can also donate straight to the organization here.

It’s a great cause!