The Canadian Veteran Service Dog Unit (CVSDU) is a membership-based, veteran-led registered charity. Our Mission is to train and provide Service Dogs to Canadian Veterans and First Responders diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), at no cost to qualified members.

Through compassion, advocacy, and education, we strive to enhance well-being, foster independence, and underscore the pivotal role of service dogs in mental health and recovery — ensuring that those who have served our nation and communities never face these challenges alone.

Over the past two decades, society’s understanding of trauma and its impact has evolved significantly, as has the approach to supporting those who struggle with its effects. Whether encountered on the battlefield, at the scene of a crime or accident, during a building fire, natural disaster, or terrorist attack, military personnel, police officers, firefighters and paramedics face a much higher risk of experiencing severe trauma than the general population.