AGAWAM — With Veterans Day right around the corner, one organization is giving back to those who served, by providing furry companions to veterans returning home from the battlefield. Saturday was National Make a Dog’s Day, but the service dogs trained through the America’s VetDogs Organization are the ones making a difference in service members’ lives every day.

Saturday marked the fourth annual Salute to Soldiers event at the Polish Cultural Center in Agawam.

The event raises money to benefit the America’s VetDogs Organization.

The non-profit breeds, trains and pairs service dogs with veterans and first responders.

The New York-based organization has roots going back all the way to World War II with the founding of the guide dog foundation.

The organization realized the greater need to serve the veteran population and America’s VetDogs was ultimately created in 2003.

Man’s best friends are trained to serve our nation’s best by performing a number of tasks including opening doors, retrieving objects and nightmare disruption for those with PTSD.

Western Mass News spoke with Jack Chamberland who organized Saturday’s event.

“Fundraising events like this are so important especially because it gives a lot of veterans, especially those in this area, we actually have some here with us tonight, and it lets them get back to what they are use to. And with Veterans Day coming up, it is important to support our veterans,” he said.

Chamberland said many of the veterans who receive service dogs are able to come off many of their PTSD medications.

The dogs are trained at local prisons during the week and spend their weekends with local families.

Mark Tyler is the Prison Puppy Program advisor and he told Western Mass News the impact this program has on both the veterans and the inmates.

“It does benefit the inmates as much as the veterans perhaps. So a number of them have made a mistake somewhere along the line but want to give back to the community and we have found this is a way they can do that,” he said.

Western Mass News spoke with one family who is currently raising their second AVD dog. Kim Roeder told Western Mass News what it was like when their first dog Richie went to his fur-ever home.

“It was hard to let Richie go but when we get to meet the veteran and we get to know that this will be a life-changing experience, it really makes it worthwhile…We get to love him and train him and be with him through this formative stage, is great but we know that he is going to give a lifetime of comfort and support to someone else,” she said.

While each service dog costs around $50,000 to breed, raise and train ...They are given to veterans at no cost.

The organization’s mission is to help those who served our country live a life without boundaries.

Since 2018 the Salute to Soldiers event has raised nearly $20,000 to benefit America’s VetDogs and has sponsored two future service dogs.

By Staasi Heropoulos | Special to The Republican

September 13, 2024

SOUTH HADLEY — Marine veteran Jim Grandchamp, 58, was chatting on the phone while his service dog, Atlas, took a nap next to him on the couch.

“His legs are twitching, so he’s running,” said the South Hadley man.

In his dreams, the black, 5-year-old English Labrador retriever might have been playing in a field or chasing a squirrel.

Grandchamp’s dreams are not so idyllic. He doesn’t remember details, but he said they’re horrifying—and it’s Atlas’s job to wake him up when he’s having nightmares.

“When I start twitching and grunting, he sits up to see if I’m just rolling over in bed. If I continue, he takes his nose and starts driving it into my leg to wake me up. Then I just pet him and we both go back to sleep,” he said.

Grandchamp received Atlas in 2021 from America’s VetDogs. The national, nonprofit organization in Smithtown, N.Y., provides service dogs for free to veterans that have visual, physical or mental disabilities. The organization says it costs $50,000 to breed, train and place each dog. As of last year, AVD had delivered 585 service dogs to veterans across the country.

Labrador and golden retrievers, or a cross between them, are best-suited to be service dogs because they are strong — but not too big — adapt to hot and cold climates, train and listen well, and they are friendly, according to program instructors. Poodles are also used because they are hypoallergenic and are good for veterans with allergies.

Among dozens of tasks, the dogs are trained to open and close doors and drawers, pick up dropped objects, stabilize veterans who are shaky on their feet, offer visual guidance — even give credit cards to cashiers.

“Less than one half of one percent of the U.S. population serves in the U.S. military, that means if you’re serving, there’s a much greater chance you’re going to be put in a combat situation and come home with a disability,” said Jack Chamberland, Event Coordinator for the group in western Massachusetts.

“If you need these types of services to reassimilate, the mission of VetDogs is to help veterans live a life without boundaries along with dignity and independence,” continued Chamberland.

Grandchamp is a retired gunnery sergeant who joined the Marines in 1984 as a mechanic. He was part of Operation Desert Shield in 1990, driving a tow truck and recovering vehicles under fire in Kuwait. He remembers being in a bunker with a fellow marine, who was shot and bleeding. The soldier’s injuries were not serious and he survived. The bullet barely missed Grandchamp.

When he returned to the U.S., the South Hadley man served on a reserve base in Pennsylvania and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

One of his assignments on both bases was to receive the bodies of dead Marines when they were flown back to America. Until they were buried, the bodies were never alone. A Marine was always with them.

Grandchamp stood at the head of caskets during wakes and watched grieving families being consoled for their loss. He heard stories family and friends told about the deceased. He presented folded flags to mothers and widows at cemeteries. He did this hundreds of times, and it took its toll.

“You think of the speech you’re going to give and try not to get emotional. Once you do that, and you walk away, you go back to the truck, and that’s when everything starts to sink in. Here’s another Marine lost,” Grandchamp told The Republican.

Before Grandchamp got to bring Atlas home, he spent more than a week with him at the breeding and training center. They got to know one another, discovering what each of them needed and could offer the other.

Today, Atlas goes everywhere with Grandchamp, there to help his owner out of a jam. “If I’m trying to pay for something and I drop my wallet because of arthritis in my hand, Atlas has been trained to pick up my wallet and bring it over to me,” said Grandchamp.

The ex-Marine also has bad knees and a weak back — Atlas does what he can to stabilize the veteran, physically and mentally.

“He calms me down. If I start getting stressed, he recognizes it. He’s right next to me all the time and he’ll put his head on my leg. I start petting him slowly, and relax,” he said.

Mark Tyler has been training service dogs for more than thirty years and he’s been with America’s VetDogs since it was founded in 2023. He said it takes about a year to train each dog, and he’s constantly amazed at a canine’s dogged determination to learn and perform.

“What impresses me most about the dog is its willingness to be patient and understand what I’m trying to communicate,” he said. “If I could speak and explain to a dog in words like you and I understand, they would say, ‘Sure, I’m up for that task.’ Our inability to communicate frustrates me. We’re still struggling as trainers to become better at it, but the dogs’ patience and willingness to do this work has always been fascinating.”

There are more than 1,800 veterans waiting for service dogs, but only 150 of the animals can be placed each year. With more funding, the group could produce more dogs, said Chamberland, and that is why he is the group’s chief fundraiser in Western Mass.

“Funding is so important because it’s making sure they have the resources to invest in more dogs and try to meet the significant demand,” he said. “You see bumper stickers that people want to support our troops. Donating is a way to do that. This is an organization that literally changes lives because they are giving dignity and independence that a veteran deserves through this dog.”

The 6th Annual Salute to Soldiers is a fundraiser to benefit America’s VetDogs. It is being held Friday, Oct. 18, from 5-9 p.m. at the Polish Club of Agawam, 139 Southwick Street Agawam. Tickets to the event are $20 apiece and include dinner. There will be guest speakers, a trivia contest, raffle drawings and a chance to meet and pet the dogs.

For more information, visit Facebook @asalutetosoliders or asalutetosoldiers.com.

By Claire Overton | 22 News

October 17, 2025

Westfield — Over 50 golfers gathered at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield for the first annual charity golf tournament benefiting America’s VetDogs, an organization that pairs service dogs with veterans.

The event aimed to raise over $100,000 to support America’s VetDogs, which provides service dogs to U.S. veterans with mental or physical disabilities. Past events in Western Massachusetts have raised approximately $75,000.

“They have a lot of challenges they face reassimilating, and so by having a service dog, it helps them perform daily tasks,” said Jack Chamberland, the event coordinator for America’s VetDogs.

Jack Chamberland explained that having a service dog not only assists veterans with daily tasks but also helps them integrate into the community by changing public perception.

“When they are out in public, they are no longer the veteran with the disability, they are the guy with the cool dog,” Chamberland said.

Over the course of their last six events, America’s VetDogs has raised enough money to sponsor 10 service dogs. Two new service dogs were named after Massachusetts service members, and these 12-week-old labs are beginning their training to assist veterans in about a year to a year and a half.