Paws for a Great Cause – Partners for Patriots 

Twenty, that’s the average number of military veterans that die by suicide every day. 

It’s a number that Cindy Brodie works tirelessly to not only reduce but remove. She is the founder of Partners for Patriots, a non-profit that provides service dogs to disabled military veterans free of charge. 

Cindy created the non-profit in 2009 in Tennessee and moved to Iowa in 2013. Partners for Patriots have given 104 dogs to veterans around Siouxland and beyond. 

She and a group of volunteers in our area train and raise these dogs, teaching them everything to be a successful and integral part of veterans’ daily lives. 

“We teach them all kinds of commands, and most importantly, how to become a faithful companion, and how to provide comfort when a veteran is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or suicidal thoughts. These dogs are very intelligent. They know and can sense when an episode is about to come up. It is amazing to see the impact they have on a veteran’s life.” 

With more than 40 years of experience, Cindy has trained canines for law enforcement agencies, teaching them duties like drug detection, locating bomb materials, and suspects. 

But she said, it has truly been the most rewarding to see the lives of disabled veterans become enriched because of these lifesaving dogs, who were once themselves without a home. 

“Most of our dogs are taken from Shelters and Rescues. We feel we are saving a life to enrich another. We have had breeders donate pups and older dogs also.” 

Cindy is pictured here with “Izzie,” one of the service dogs described to be sweet and loving. 

For more information, check out www.partnersforpatriots.org

By Jetske Wauran