05/01/2026
Corgis as service dogs; why are we trying it? The answer, several reasons:
Many veterans come to us with no physical limitations, so they don’t need a bigger dog for mobility and retrieval skills. A Corgi is just as capable of learning our PTSD commands and alerting to mental health issues as a Lab. And a smaller dog is easier to put under a table, inside a bathroom stall, under your feet on an airplane, and many other places.
And many veterans are not used to having a large dog, especially working with one. Our Labs are between 75-85 pounds—not everyone is comfortable with a dog of that size. Some veterans who might have been comfortable with a big dog in the past, might now be facing issues that make it difficult to manage such a big dog .
The Corgis are an experiment. We have a dedicated “Corgi Team” giving these little guys the best opportunity to become pro-service dogs, but there is no guarantee. But, there never is in this work. Right now, we can say that the Corgis are challenging our team in new ways and thriving. We hope they are the start of something great!
