Slipstream - July 2019

Patriot Paws in Action!
by Alan Nusbaum
photo provided by author
It’s always difficult to know how
a certain event or experience will
impact your life. For my son Sam
and me, the Maverick Region PCA
Patriot Paws visit in March became
much more than a one-time event.
Not really knowing what to expect
when the event announcement was
made, Sam and I signed up. We love
dogs and we love Porsches!
What we saw that day was truly
amazing and inspiring. Before we
left their facility, we were really
excited about what we had seen,
and both agreed that the Patriot
Paws mission aligned with “why
we do what we do” at Raytheon,
where my three children and I work.
Raytheon is a technology and
innovation leader in the aerospace
and defense industry, and one of
the larger employers in North
Texas. Our work helps protect
and support the men and women
in our U.S. military. Many of our
employees are veterans, and after
describing what we had seen, our
veteran employee resource group
shared in our excitement and was
a discussion with Lori, a Q&A
session, a video about their prison
training program, and of course,
Pierce showed off his skills!
At the end of the session, I
announced a $20,000 donation
from my
organization
to Patriot Paws
Service Dogs for
the training of a
service dog.
Our goal that
day had been to
was a very good first step of what we
intend to be a long-term relationship.
It all stemmed from our Maverick
Region PCA visit in March! Thanks
again to Don Sebert and all those
that organized that great day in
Rockwall.
On a final note: Lori
announced that as a part
of our donation, we too
could name a service
dog. The audience voted
for a name from a list of
Raytheon products. The
winning name was . . .
Maverick!
The mission of Patriot Paws is to “train and
provide service dogs of the highest quality
at no cost to disabled American veterans”
in order to “help restore their physical and
emotional independence.”
on board to support Patriot Paws.
At our McKinney facility on
May 16 we hosted Lori Stevens,
the founder and executive director;
Kristina Longoria, an intern
trainer; and Pierce, a service dog in
training at Patriot Paws. It turned
out be a very special day indeed!
We had a great employee turnout
for the program, which included
create a better
understanding
of the Patriot
Paws mission:
why it’s so
important, how it
is accomplished,
and what we can
do to help. We
think this event
8 July