CBS spotlights veteran service-dog training program in San Martin

A CBS News segment gave Mary Cortani’s San Martin program a national-sized spotlight, and the most striking scene was not a rescue run or a ribbon-cutting. It was veteran Tommy Aldridge and his service dog Chip moving through a training session in which the dog picked up on Tommy’s rising anxiety before Tommy fully recognized it himself.

That small moment is the point Operation Freedom Paws wants the wider public to see. In the organization’s telling, Chip is not a pet riding along for comfort. He is a working partner who can interrupt a spiral, create a pause, and give a combat veteran living with PTSD a chance to reset before stress turns into crisis. The nonprofit says its goal is independence, regulation, and confidence, built through training that teaches veterans and dogs to read one another in real time.

Cortani’s program did not start as a large nonprofit with a broad footprint. Its founder story says the work began in 2010 after a Marine approached her for help getting a service dog for anxiety tied to combat hyper-vigilance. At the time, existing programs often had waiting lists that stretched for years. Cortani responded by building a model that pairs clients with carefully matched canines and trains them together, so trust becomes the foundation instead of an afterthought.

Operation Freedom Paws says it has now supported more than 600 clients. It also says the service is provided at no cost and is funded by community support, a setup that has helped it keep veterans, first responders, children, and other people with disabilities moving through the same training model since 2010. The nonprofit describes itself as a 501(c)(3) and says its approach is holistic, with wraparound support for clients and families.

The program often works with rescued dogs, giving both sides a second chance. That matters in a field where high-drive working dogs need structure, purpose, and a handler who can match them moment for moment. A recent anniversary post said Operation Freedom Paws has spent 15 years helping veterans and rescue dogs, a span that makes the CBS attention feel less like a one-day feature and more like a public handoff into a long-running mission. Len Ramirez reported the CBS News Bay Area segment, and CBS Los Angeles has also noted that the organization has been matching dogs with veterans and others with disabilities since 2010.