A Veteran's Best Friend

“I’m glad that while my dad was alive, he saw me doing for others what he assumed nobody would do for him. I wanted him to see that somebody would be there when he passed—somebody was going to care,” Teresa said. “I enjoy mentioning my dad to my clients now because I want them to know that while I didn't serve, I come from a family that understands service.”

A Helping Paw

Valor K9’s primary mission is to provide service dog support to veterans and first responders, facilitating extra training and helping the handler and dog become a unit.

“By definition, a service dog must first be task-trained to mitigate a disability, so their mere presence is not enough,” Teresa explained, adding that these dogs, once trained, create a ripple effect. “They not only help the veteran; they can essentially save their whole family by default.”

When helping veterans one-on-one with their service dogs, Teresa often travels to them so they don’t have to leave home. As the training progresses, the dogs learn tasks specific to the veterans’ needs, including emotional support and disability assistance.

“The goal of a service dog is to allow a veteran to re-enter society,” she said. “From a psychological standpoint, that one dog’s job is to help that person return to normalcy. For each person I’ve worked with, it’s life-altering.”

Good in a Crisis

The Kings have always shared a love of dogs, but their appreciation for what these animals are capable of has grown throughout the years. In addition to witnessing canines improve veterans’ lives, two of their dogs, Swagger and Batman, are trained crisis response animals. Teresa takes them into the aftermath of natural disasters or traumatic events to bring comfort to civilians and first responders.

“Before COVID-19 stopped most volunteer work, Swagger had 17 national disasters under his belt—tornadoes, wildfires and more,” Teresa said.

Critical incident stress management requires extensive training not only for the animal but also for the handler. Teresa holds certifications in critical incident management, psychological first aid and wide-area search, allowing her to respond to disasters in different capacities when needed.

In her first major crisis mission, Teresa and her late golden retriever, Whisper, responded to the 2013 explosion in West, Texas. The pair visited elementary schools as well as the police and fire departments to relieve stress.

“Therapy dogs allow people a peaceful moment in the chaos,” Teresa detailed. “When you pet a dog, you physically feel better. Scientifically, you get a release of serotonin, oxytocin and other chemicals that elevate your mood and relieve anxieties.”