Jaimie + Moose

Jaimie McAfee, USMC and his service dog, Moose, graduated our program in May 2019 and have been loving their journey together ever since. Moose was adopted from the San Diego Department of Animal Services Bonita Shelter and was generously sponsored by Petco Foundation through their Helping Heroes grant.

“More like ‘Angels to Soldiers’ because that is how I feel every day I step foot outside of my home with my guardian, Moose.” – Jaimie McAfee, USMC

After several months of working with Jaimie, Moose returned to our program. While Jaimie and Moose made an amazing team and Moose made a tremendous impact in Jaimie’s life, there were personal obstacles in Jaimie’s life that led him to the tough decision that caring for a service dog was no longer feasible. We are proud of Jaimie’s growth, and thankful to Moose for assisting him along his journey.

Moose has since become the first Shelter to Soldier Canine Ambassador, and a hard working and dedicated therapy dog. Moose serves the HSC-4 Black Knights Squadron alongside his handler, Petty Officer First Class Thomas Moore, US Navy, who is a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) victim advocate for service members throughout San Diego.

Shelter to Soldier Canine Ambassadors (therapy team) provide visits of love and affection throughout the Southern California region. Each therapy team (dog and handler) will serve different purposes including providing visits with active duty military personnel, veterans working through trauma, military families while their loved ones are deployed or when a loved one has passed while in service, and to our community partners.

We are very thankful to Petco Foundation for supporting Moose along the way to finding his purpose, which has always been of service to veterans and military personnel in need. Their contributions through the Helping Heroes grant have supported Moose’s adoption, training, care and later career change through our program.