As Need for Comfort Dogs Grows, So Does USO's Canine Program

A calming presence is sometimes all you need to feel better when you're going through a hard time. The military community knows this well - and they know some of the best comfort-givers come in the form of four-legged, furry friends.

One USO Missouri-based therapy dog - a 150-pound Great Dane named Maverick - has become a bit of a celebrity. In 2023, he was named the American Humane Hero Dog Awards' Therapy Dog of the Year, and he also earned the USO's inaugural Canine Volunteer of the Year award.

Kelly Brownfield, Maverick's handler and the manager of the USO Missouri's Canine Program, based at Fort Leonard Wood, said she believes he was born to help others. He has a knack for knowing who needs him, even in a big crowd.

"He roams the facility, and at times, you'll find him laying with a service member, and it is obvious that the service member is going through something," Brownfield said. "Maverick finds them and lets them know he is there for them."

Expanding the Program Nationally

The USO Missouri started its comfort dog program as a pilot program in 2013 before becoming an official entity in 2015. Since then, the branch's dogs and their handlers, who are certified volunteers, have worked to expand the program, which offers support to struggling service members and their families. Brownfield said they helped the national branch of the USO set up its own program, which officially launched as the USO Canine Program in 2023.

The animals are registered therapy dogs, family pets and military working dogs who have given comfort to children at schools, patients in hospitals and individual military units in need of support.

"The program … is about lifting the spirits of our military and their family members," Brownfield said. "It [is] about helping them through hard times - helping tear down those emotional barriers, especially when an unexpected tragedy happens."

Maverick's sidekick at the USO Missouri is Apache, another Great Dane therapy dog. When they're not at Fort Leonard Wood, they can be found traveling throughout the state and country to help with special requests. The dogs have helped support service members on suicide watch, and they comfort children who have suffered abuse, providing them with hope and strength.

"It can make all the difference in the world," Brownfield said.

Another important mission they carry out: accompanying families to burials of their loved ones.

"Seeing a loved one's name on that headstone can be a triggering moment, but having one of the canines by your side might help get you through that," Brownfield said. "They act as their rock to lean on."

Paula Tackett's husband, Phillip Tackett, spent 36 years in the Army as a criminal investigator and helped expand Fort Leonard Wood's canine program, which he often used during his career. "He dealt with a lot of instances where there needed to be someone [the victim] trusted," Paula Tackett said.

Maverick helped her family, too, when her husband died in 2023.

"Maverick is one of those kinds of dogs that just gravitates toward the ones who need help," Tackett said. "The night that we had the viewing at the funeral home, he came in. He put his paw on the casket, then kind of sat down. He stayed right with me and the kids because he knew. … He was just that calming presence."

From One Celebrity to Another

Actor David Boreanaz, who plays a special warfare operator on the Paramount+ TV show "SEAL Team," recently went on his first USO Tour to visit the Canine Program at Fort Leonard Wood. Canines are a pivotal part of his show, so it was a fitting choice.

"I don't want to fill those paws," Boreanaz joked of meeting Maverick. "I just want to be part of his energy … feel that excitement and healing attributes that Maverick puts out."

Boreanaz is no stranger to the military. Aside from playing a SEAL on TV, his father worked for the American Forces Network, so he's been in tune to what the USO has to offer since he was a child.

"I've always been enamored by it," he said before the visit. "I'm excited for this … stepping into their boots and seeing their activities and what they do."

The USO has more than 250 centers worldwide. Forty-two of them now have USO Canine Programs. Each location uses the program differently to fit their needs.

"Our dogs help remind those we work with what unconditional love is," Brownfield said. "I can't wait to see where it goes from here, and I can only hope the program continues to grow and touch lives around the world."

A Guardian Angel

A few days after Boreanaz's visit, Maverick had a major scare of his own. The Great Dane had to have surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Two days later, Brownfield said he was rushed to an emergency room because his stomach had flipped and twisted around his spleen.

"The vet said there was no way he should've survived," Brownfield said. "I told her he has many guardian angels on his side and a nation pulling for him."

Days later, Maverick was reported to be doing much better.

"He is our miracle!" Brownfield said. "We are honored to have such a remarkable animal to share with others."