(scroll down for episodes)..........................................................Jon Patch
Talkin' Pets Show Host
Dog Tag Heroes
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Kathy Smith...........................
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Jon Patch talks to Kathy Smith, founder of a non-profit called Dog Tag Heroes to help veterans and their families with quality of life issues, which other organizations often overlook.
Questions or Comments? Send them to: jon@petliferadio.com.
When things get tough, it’s often the simple things that make the greatest impact on our lives. Kathy Smith knows that only too well. She lost her husband Dennis to the effects of Agent Orange exposure he received while serving his country in Viet Nam. Dennis never complained, instead he was proud to have served his country.
After losing Dennis, Kathy wanted to make his life and his service to our nation meaningful so she founded a non-profit called Dog Tag Heroes to help veterans and their families with quality of life issues, which other organizations often overlook.
Kathy realizes the importance of helping them get back into the mainstream of society and has used the "simple things" to help that happen. Something as practical as taking care of a pet while the veteran is in the hospital or making sure the person has a Christmas tree can mean a great deal. Other examples may include providing home furnishings, assisting with their short term financial needs, or providing a bicycle to make it possible for them to get to work, a bus station, a doctor’s appointment or just get to the store.
Because of Kathy's personal involvement, she has single-handedly impacted more lives than veteran organizations that are much larger. What makes her efforts even more remarkable is that she has been performing her generous acts while taking intense chemo-therapy for pancreatic cancer. She is still battling the cancer, although it is currently in remission.
Despite her personal challenges, Kathy remains focused on her mission to help our veterans by opening a thrift store called Veterans Exchange Store. This will enable Dog Tag Heroes to be self-sustaining while providing expanded services to our veterans and their families.
Dog Tag Heroes needs to raise $175,000 dollars to make it happen. Your generosity will make it possible to keep Kathy’s dream alive to help America's veterans for years to come.
