Dog Tag Buddies

01/14/2026

🌟WE NEED YOUR VOTES 🌟

Zip Trip Rewards members will soon have the option to donate rewards points to charity. But they want YOU to help decide where those donations go!

Dog Tag Buddies is honored to be one of the nominated charities, but we need your votes!

💙 Together, we can turn rewards points into real impact for Montana communities.

01/08/2026

Anyone looking for civilian obedience classes?
https://dogtagbuddies.org/services/dog-obedience-training-civilian-classes/

01/02/2026

As we roll into 2026, we want to wish you all the very best. Dog Tag Buddies is deeply grateful for each and every one of you. Your support—whether through time, trust, advocacy, or generosity—makes our work possible and keeps veterans and their service dogs moving forward together. Thank you for standing with us in 2025.

Cheers to 2026!

12/28/2025

This is what community looks like! The Yellowstone Sea Hawkers provided so much incredible support this season.

Our teams have received some amazing gifts under our tree. Thank you from all of us at Dog Tag Buddies for your support and genorosity! Thank you, Sea Hawkers!

12/24/2025

I meant to make a post tomorrow, but tonight my heart felt too full to wait.

Lately I’ve been reflecting on how dogs have brought some of the most incredible people into our lives. Not just supporters or volunteers—but community. People who show up, who care deeply, who believe in something bigger than themselves. Honestly, that may be the greatest gift of all.

Through Dog Tag Buddies and the veterans we serve, I am constantly reminded how blessed we are.

This work is hard, meaningful, and deeply human—and none of it happens in isolation.

To everyone who supports our mission—by volunteering, sharing our story, donating, advocating, or simply offering encouragement—thank you. Truly. We cannot do this alone, and we were never meant to.

This community is the why. 💛

We are delighted to bring festive cheer to Dog Tag Buddies this holiday season through a collaborative effort with The Spur Line, donating over 30 West Paw Zogoflex toys. For those interested in contributing, please do not hesitate to contact us. Merry Christmas!

12/23/2025

Thank you to Congressman Troy Downing and Senator Kevin Cramer for stepping up to help ensure the Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program continues to be funded.

This ask is the first step in bridging a significant funding gap for service dog organizations across the country.

Veterans in all 50 states rely on organizations supported through this program to access life-saving service dogs. For many veterans, a service dog isn’t a first, second, or even third option—but when all else has failed, it can be the difference between surviving and truly living.

We promised to take care of them. Now is the time to fulfill that promise.

Link in comments

12/17/2025

These adorable floofs can't wait to see everyone at our Howl-iday open house tomorrow!

12/09/2025

I’ve been sounding the alarm on this since June. When I was in Washington, DC in September meeting with congressional staffers, one thing became painfully clear: staff can do a lot, but they cannot do the job of our elected officials.

The Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program is a Department of Defense program created for one purpose—to ensure veterans, especially those in rural and frontier communities, can access the life-changing support of a trained service dog.

This year alone, 28 service dog organizations, based in 23 states, are serving veterans and military families in all 50 states. Losing this funding isn’t a bureaucratic setback. It is a direct blow to veterans who are fighting every day for stability, connection, and a path forward.

Congress created this program. Congress has funded it every year since 2015. Congress stated, in federal law, its clear intent for this program to continue as a DoD responsibility.

Now we are urgently asking them to honor that commitment — to fully fund the program they created and to prevent the collapse of a national network that our veterans depend on.

The lives of our veterans and their families truly do depend on it.

Montana veterans service dog nonprofit warns of major federal funding loss

A Montana nonprofit that pairs veterans with service dogs is warning that its largest source of funding could disappear at the end of the year.

12/07/2025

I need your help. A crisis is heading our way if we don't address this now, the ones who will pay the price are the veterans and families who need us most. Service dogs save lives!

The Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program (WWSDP) has supported organizations across the United States since 2015, helping get highly trained service dogs into the hands of veterans who need them most. These dogs reduce su***de risk, support daily living, and help veterans rebuild a new normal, especially in rural and frontier rural communities. In 2021, Congress formally established WWSDP as a DoD program of record under Pub. L. No. 116-283, § 745 (2021).

Today, DoD Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program Award Recipients are sounding the alarm because the future of this federally recognized program is at risk.

Without fixing FY25 and securing FY26, WWSDP will run out of funding in 2025.

This would leave 28 organizations in 23 states, and the veterans they serve in all 50 states, without the support Congress intended when it created this program.

This is not hypothetical. It is already unfolding.

What happened in FY25 (the crisis we’re already in):
• FY25 passed with no dedicated line item for WWSDP.
• There is zero new FY25 funding, despite WWSDP being a DoD responsibility under federal law.
• All providers are operating only on leftover FY24 funds, which expire Dec 31, 2025.
• This creates a funding cliff that will force:
– Veteran waitlist freezes
– Halting of new placements
– Staff reductions and regional cutbacks
– Direct cuts to lifesaving services
Veterans in all 50 states will feel the impact.

Why FY25 must be fixed NOW:
• Even if FY26 funding passes, funds won’t flow for 9–12 months after enactment.
• Without FY25 dollars, organizations face a full-year funding gap many cannot survive.
• FY25 can only be fixed through:
– A reprogramming action, or
– A supplemental appropriations bill
(Both must align with Defense Health Program / Consolidated Health Support.)

What happened in FY26 (the next fight):
• The House included $17M for WWSDP.
• The Senate included nothing.
• Funding is not secured until both chambers agree in conference.

What Congress must do:
• Fix FY25 immediately.
• Adopt the House’s $17M for FY26.
• Reaffirm WWSDP as a DoD program of record under PL 116-283.
• Ensure continuous support for the wounded warriors this program was created to serve.

CALL TO ACTION
If you truly support veterans, su***de prevention, and military families, this is the moment to act.

Contact your Members of Congress. Share this post. Rally your networks.

Because at some point we must ask:
If we allow this program to fail, do we really support our veterans — or only when it's convenient?

12/01/2025

Training a service dog takes time, heart, and teamwork and with every partnership we are building a connection of confidence and healing. Together we can make the season brighter by supporting our teams with items they will need on their journey.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WJK5M78?ref_=generic_registry_guest_view_modal&colid=8A9QXBD22JP&coliid=I2A125A5MXKKHI&th=1&psc=1

11/30/2025

We are truly blessed with supporters and collaborators from across the state. Montana Murray Kennels created a fabulous 2026 calendar filled with photos of Montana dogs. The proceeds will be donated to Dog Tag Buddies and Tiny Tails k-9 Rescue, Montana. If you are interested, we have some available at the training center here in Billings.

Huge thank you going out to Montana Murray Kennels, In Belgrade Montana for doing a calendar fundraiser to support Tiny Tails K-9 Rescue Inc., Montana, Dog Tag Buddies and Northern Lights Therapy Dogs. Please support the businesses that support animal welfare. PS. Gift certificates for dog training is a wonderful holiday gift that will be appreciated for a life time.