WNYHeroes.org

03/21/2023

A huge shoutout for for hosting a basket raffle in support of WNYHeroes! The is the reason we can do what we do! Please come out and support! You can always like and share this post too to help this amazing endeavor!

03/21/2023

Our first photo with those incarcerated at Groveland Correctional Facility NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Dogs Left to Right, Clancy (Named after local WWII Veteran) Duke (Through our friends at Hornell Area Humane Society, Spirit Program) and Dani (Named after local soldier, fallen to su***de) Pawsitive for Heroes . Special thank you to our friends at Purina Purina Pro Plan for being our major food sponsor. Our dogs at all the facilities are growing big and strong.

03/21/2023

And the celebration of Women’s history month keeps going strong and you’ll see it tight here reading about our Veteran sister Cindy!!! 🫡

AG1 Cynthia (Cindy) Blair grew up with a love of God and Country as the daughter of a Korean War Veteran in Upstate NY. She felt the call to duty after the fall of the Berlin Wall and in Sept. 1989 signed up for the Navy on a delayed entry program and worked in the recruiting office.
May 1990 - left for basic training in Orlando, FL
Jan. 1991 - Aug. 1995 - weather observer at Belle Chase, LA
Aug. 1995 - Aug. 1998 - weather observer and assistant forecaster at Sigonella, Sicily, Italy
Aug. 1998 - Sep. 2002 - Meteorological Research Assistant at Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanographic Center in Monterey, California
She continues to serve in her community in various volunteer and peer support roles.

03/21/2023

Hey hey hey it’s street team Tuesday! Volunteers we would love to see you from 9-12 today if your free

03/20/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/20/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/20/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/20/2023

This has been a fabulous weekend with parades in the cold but a whole lot of warmth from all the from our awesome , and even our lucky
WNY Leprechaun
Buffalo Tiki Tours - Craig Schultz- Drive Against Diabetes Inc. David W P***k Wheatfield Pediatrics Without you we cannot do what we do Thank you! Melissa Holmes- WGRZ

03/20/2023

In continuous recognition of we would like to celebrate MSGT Tara Wichtowski !
Tara Wichtowski (witchtowski) joined the army national guard in 2000. Her first activation was 9/11 where she responded to the terror attack in NYC and assisted with search and recovery operations as well as security. In 2004 She was deployed to Afghanistan as a civil affairs spc and spent 12 months in country and 18 months total.

In 2008 after completing her army tour She joined the air force reserves and in 2010 became AGR and have been serving there since. She is now the Commanders right hand working for Commanders support Staff.

03/20/2023

Timeline photos

03/20/2023

When you are trying to clean the school floor this morning and Moe (African Boerboel) refuses to leave Kilo (Bull Mastiff) alone. So she takes to the one place she knows Moe will NOT go just yet. That's to the king of the hill (A Frame) 😂😂😂🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Pawsitive for Heroes

03/19/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/19/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/19/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/19/2023

Photos from Ashley Bringenberg Photography's post

03/19/2023

At the game today? Well so are we. Stop by, get your pic and say hello Pawsitive for Heroes Thank you RJ for stopping by and saying hello.

03/19/2023

Last night the shenanigans couldn’t have been nearly as smooth without our amazing ! We couldn’t do this without you all! Truly blessed to hav me your amazing support! Another huge shoutout to the for believing in us and having such an amazing event to support or mission!

03/18/2023

Rumpus and Hooley fundraiser to support our programs/services. Thank you The Roycroft Inn for your awesome .

03/18/2023

Service Dog Public Access Training at Boulevard Mall

03/18/2023

Yes, yes, yes…..let’s get the voting started 😂😂😂

Thank you to all of my Pooch Playoffs participants for entering your pups, supporting WNYHeroes.org & Pawsitive for Heroes, and for your patience as I spent the week finishing up photographing your sweet doggies and getting the competition ready to roll! ❤️

I am excited to announce that voting will open on Monday, March 20th at 6am. The first round will be open for voting for 3 days (until midnight on March 22) and each subsequent round will be open for 2 days.

I will be introducing WNY's cutest pups over the next 48 hours so be sure to keep an eye out for your cutie so you can share with your family & friends.

Thank you again to our amazing sponsors:
The Liberty Team at Keller Williams Realty WNY
Brockport Area Veterans Club
Brockport American Legion Auxilary Post #379
Olde Dogge Inn
Circle of Friends Pet Grooming & Boutique
Boops Co. Boarding & Daycare
The Coffee Joint
Bittersweet
Proforma WNY Print & Promotion

03/18/2023

WNYHeroes.org

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to our amazing friends at GEICO for ONCE AGAIN supporting our programs/services. GEICO gave another $5,000 towards our Pawsitive for Heroes NYC trip in September. That is a total of $25,000 thus far for 2023 that they have continued to provide, while ensuring our programs continue. Thank you GEICO for being our hero and supporting what we stand for.

We are a non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference for our Western New York Veterans and Troops.

03/18/2023

Attending the parade today and tomorrow? Well so are we….😂😂❤️❤️ Thank you Craig Scultz and amazing team Drive Against Diabetes Inc. for your continuous and amazing support and love. Thank you to Wheatfield Pediatrics, Buffalo Tiki Tours and our friend David P***k. This was an amazing surprise. Looking forward to getting nasty cold…..NOT! But looking forward to seeing everyone. Enjoy your weekend, be safe and stay warm.

03/17/2023

A HUGE standing salute for our sister in arms!

Hometown: Buffalo, New York

Military Occupations held: 79R Army Reserve Recruiter, 42A Human Resource Specialist, 42A8 Human Resource Instructor, 92Y Supply Specialist 71L Administrative Specialist Highest medal awarded : Meritorious Service Medal

Joined the US Army Reserve in March 1987-2006 Completed BCT-January 1988 Completed AIT-September 1988 Assigned to 98th Division from 1987-2006 Joined Active Guard Reserve in May 2007 Assigned to Syracuse Recruiting Battalion 2007-2015 Assigned to Columbus Recruiting Battalion 2012-2015 Assigned to Cleveland Recruiting Battalion 2015-2020 Assigned to Syracuse Recruiting Battalion 2020-Present

Trained and Traveled all over the United States

SFC Denise M Puskar
Army Reserve Recruiter

03/16/2023

A huge thank you to for the amazing accommodations for our Many smiles in North Collin’s this morning!

03/16/2023

We all could use a little (or a lot) of serenity! The weather has been less then sunny ☀️ lately but not with these amazing rockstars! They brought the light in their beautiful painting project thanks to the amazing support of after we reached out to get some paintings delivered! Veteran owned and operated, we didn’t expect any less then an amazing 🤩 collaboration! The results of the beautiful art and the smiles say it all! Thank you rockstars for your service! Thank you to all hands who made this happen! Big shoutout to Josie from Pinots Palette and Christine from the Va who was an amazing asset too!

03/16/2023

We are proud of Kenney. Yes, he was work, but with hard work came an amazing dog who is doing amazing things. We had several officers begging us to fail him out of the program so they can adopt him lol We we’re making sure Kenney successfully made it and he did. We love watching him work. Pawsitive for Heroes

In March of 2022, two volunteers at Rochester Animal Services, Ginny and Deborah noticed a dog named Kenney with high energy and a good “ball drive”. Ginny and Deborah saw potential in Kenney and began looking for alternatives that best suited his high energy and active character. Ginny recorded a video of Kenny retrieving a ball and sent the video to a rescue partner. Little did she know that the video she sent would lead Kenney to a life of serving those who’ve served our country.

Shortly after being transferred to the rescue partner, Chris Kreiger Sr., WNY Heroes President & Co-Founder, had a chance to meet Kenney and instantly knew he was great material for the Pawsitive for Heroes program. Kenney trained for 10 months at the Niagara County Correctional Facility where he was trained and looked after by an inmate. After his 10-month training, he was placed with a veteran and trained for 8 more months. “Kenny is a goofball, however when he has the vest on his whole mentality changes, and he knows it’s time for work” said Kreiger.

Kenney is now a full-time service dog and does an awesome job at keeping his veteran safe. Kenney’s journey from Rochester Animal Services to WNYHeroes.org is a testament to the importance of the human-animal bond.

03/15/2023

Are you currently receiving or planning on applying for SNAP benefits?
Are you eligible to receive SNAP benefits?
See below!

03/15/2023

Guess some people at work just have all the life

03/15/2023

In recognition of We would like to give a huge shoutout to Veteran Joey!
Military Title - Navy Corpsman
Military Biography – Joined the Navy out of San Diego CA. Graduated Bootcamp in the top of the class and went on to Corps school and became one of the few EMT's on the Quantico VA base. Participated in the Joint task force to aid with medical for FBI recruits in Quantico VA, and Marine Corps recruits at Parris Island SC. Attended Field Medical School to support troops in the field during training exercises and the Marine Corps marathon. Fortunately, was able to stay state side and support military personnel and their families. Joey Ann currently resides in Buffalo, NY and loves to spend time with her adult kids and grand baby. Any spare time after working at GEICO is spent helping with WNY HEREOS. Their organization is amazing with giving back to the veterans in our community and keeps that feeling of family/belonging that most of us have sorely missed.

03/15/2023

Truck Wrap 2023 Voting Bracket

THANK YOU SUPPORTERS! We made it to the next round! Your job isn't over yet! ;) Lets keep voting!

Check it out now!

03/15/2023

Come join us for a great event, Saturday March 18, 2023 6pm. Amazing raffles, fun, and laughter at the beautiful ! Thank you to our friends at The Roycroft Inn for your support. We are so excited for this event! Hope to see you all there!

03/15/2023

Spent the afternoon at the Niagara County Law Enforcement Academy following our training session at the Niagara County Sheriff Correctional Facility with the dogs. Meet the new recruits who will start protecting us later this year. A great group of men and women, being trained by great men and women of law. This is our 7th year at the academy, teaching federal laws, do’s, & don’t. Pawsitive for Heroes

03/13/2023

In honor of and , we would like to recognize Veteran Irena Bolyn (known to her friends as 'Renie') and her service dog Mike - Renie joined the Coast Guard in 1993, at the age of 23, and attended boot camp in Cape May, NY. At her first duty station in Philadelphia, PA, she found her love for all things culinary and attended CG Culinary school in 1995. Renie's CG career took her to duty stations in California, Hawaii, Washington DC, Washington state, and North Carolina. After 21 years of service, Renie's last duty station was here in Buffalo where she choose to retire after a tour in special assignments as a recruiter. While in the CG, as a single parent, Renie attained her Master's degree. Her awards during her career include CG Achievement medals with 3 gold stars, CG Commandant Letter of Commendation with 2 gold stars, Seventh CG Good Conduct Award, Global War on Terrorism Medal, CG Presidential Unit award, DOT Outstanding Unit award, among other ribbons and awards.

During her career, Renie's remembers the moment in her career when she was working for DOT Secretary Minata when he uttered the words 'Ground All Planes' on 09/11/2001. In that quiet moment, she knew she was meant to serve her country and continue to serve.

03/13/2023

Truck Wrap 2023 Voting Bracket

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE FOR THIS BRACKET! VOTE WNYHEROES! :)

Check it out now!

03/13/2023

What a fabulous way to celebrate yesterday! Our and their not so little heroes 🫡 all came together to plant some flowers 🌸 in what?! ICE CREAM 🍦 WAFFLE BOWLS?! 🙃 and fun! And then had some pizza and of course ICE CREAM after not to mention fun games such as Cat Cat DOG?! (Duck duck goose). Much fun was had until it was time to go! 😢 few tears but excitement for next time!!! See you soon kiddos! your welcome mom and dad for hopeful naps right after! 😴

03/13/2023

Thank you Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue for your continuous support. They rent out our facility to train their dogs which in turn our Pawsitive for Heroes service dog school. We really like watching them work, pretty interesting for sure. Their work so very important for sure and much needed.

03/12/2023

For this highlight for we would like to take a moment to highlight all these amazing women who tirelessly SHOW UP every day for their families! For their children! For their grandchildren! Whether they served in the military or as a spouse in the military or both! THEY SERVED! A proud salute to you all for your everyday of SHOWING UP! 🤩

03/12/2023

People keep asking about competition obedience classes. Novice and Open classes are on Fridays with Gail now @12:30. There are some open spots. Wed morning Gail is doing different classes. So the obedience was moved to Friday’s.

The rest of our schedule is Monday at 5:30 Advanced handling classs along with the CGCA. 6:30 CGC Tue nights 7:00 and 6:00 agility classes. Full at this time.

Friday mornings agility 8:00 9:00 10:00 and 11:00. Right now I have one opening also have a drop in list.

For ring rentals, you should always always contact John Knoph for availability.

Coming soon nosework classes and city rats coming to the Buffalo area stay tuned.
All classes are at the Pawsitive for Heroes Service Dog School. All ring rentals go to support our program.