INDIANAPOLIS — The American Legion, Department of Indiana presented a check for $25,000 to the Indiana Canine Assistance Network (ICAN) at the Indianapolis Marriott East during a formal presentation on Saturday, July 9. Their generous gift will enable the service dog organization to provide two deserving Indiana veterans with their own service dog, free of cost.
The highly trained canines will provide tasks for these veterans living with combat-related challenges, to empower them to return to civilian life with pride and independence.
The legion’s support follows the heels of ICAN’s recent merger announcement with Our Turn to Serve, a not-for-profit organization in Fort Wayne that provides service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma.
As part of the recent merger, ICAN will adopt Our Turn to Serve’s process of training shelter dogs, as opposed to using purebreds, for the veteran placement. But just like with a breeding program, the shelter dogs must meet certain criteria to be considered a service dog candidate. ICAN will review the dog’s health history, age, temperament and physical traits before accepting the canine to the training program.
Indiana Legion’s generosity has already inspired two prospective gifts from American Legion Post 157 in Churubusco, Ind. and 11th District Commander Yvette Fancher.
In addition to serving veterans, ICAN also places service dogs with Hoosiers who need support for mobility, diabetes, autism and more. Currently, ICAN has 120 active service dog partnerships throughout Indiana — 7 percent of those are partnered with veterans.
