In a remote area of Dulzura is a peaceful place where homeless veterans and dogs in need of a home come to build the perfect bond. It's called Cammies and Canines.
Army veteran Brian Firth was training with his new dog, Azaria, when NBC 7 spoke to him. Before the two found each other at this 289-acre sanctuary, she was at an animal shelter and he was living on the streets.
“She helps me to relax,” Firth said. “She puts her head on the pillow right next to me it's up on my chest and she's a great little dog.”
Marine Corp veteran Kalani Creutzburg is the founder of Cammies and Canines, cammies referring to the military camouflage uniform. He said when he was on the streets, fellow veterans reached out to help him and “this is a mission about paying it forward, helping other veterans like myself all my brothers and sisters get off the streets.”
Together with friend and fellow Marine Nate Schoemer, they came up with a mission to bring together homeless veterans and dogs in need.
“It's that kind of unconditional love, something I needed when I was homeless on the street,” Kreutzburg said.
Schoemer was a Marine drill instructor before he became a dog trainer.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
“There's no other animal that has that same connection with people that dogs do it's really important to the healing process,” he said.
The group rescues dogs in shelters that are difficult to place into homes, Schoemer says because they need extra training.
“So we’ll take dogs that are a little problematic and they’re struggling with and will help work with them will help fix those dogs and then we provide lessons for people that are adopting the dogs,” Schoemer said.
The group also trains people who want to be dog trainers.
Some of the dogs go on to loving homes, become emotional support dogs, and some are paired with one of the veterans who are on their way to building a new life.
The ranch also provides job training to veterans who live there, such as cooking and construction. The goal is to have 20 veterans living on the remote backcountry property.
Cammies and Canines also provides a place for veterans to pull together and support each other to cope with the traumas that brought them to the streets. And it fills the void in their lives, Creutzburg said.
“We fill that void with the puppies love canine companionship,” he said. “And it's all about going through that journey together.”
But this journey may not last long if Kreutzburg can't keep this sanctuary. He has until the end of September 2018 to raise $300,000 to buy the property. The group has already received $50,000 in donations and is getting sponsors to help them raise the rest by doing a 250-mile hike.
“We’re going to average 22 miles a day symbolizing the average suicide rate among veterans,” Creutzburg said.
While there isn’t much time, these veterans, many of whom were deployed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tell NBC7 they are up to the challenge because to the mission they say is worth it.
“Truly transforming two lives at once,” Creutzburg said.
For more information on the program click here.
