Soldier’s Best Friend will host its first annual Flag Day Luncheon at 11 a.m. Friday, June 14 at Chicken-N-Pickle, 9330 W Hanna Lane, Glendale, in Westgate. 

The group won’t be playing pickleball, but will enjoy lunch, hear the testimonies of some of veteran/dog teams, and have opportunity to support the mission of Soldier’s Best Friend, which is based in Peoria.

Soldier’s Best Friend provides U.S. military veterans living with combat-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic Brain Injury with service dogs, most of which are rescued from local shelters.

The veteran and dog train together to build a trusting relationship that touches two lives at once and inspires countless others. To date, 383 veterans have graduated from the program; and, currently there are 60 veteran/dog teams in training across Arizona.

In the last year, Soldier’s Best Friend has opened training facilities in Yuma and Show Low, to add to the existing facilities in Flagstaff, Prescott, Peoria, Mesa, Tucson and Sierra Vista.

In addition, Soldier’s Best Friend is about to launch a dog training program in Fort Grant Prison in Willcox, where inmates will be training dogs to the canine good citizen standards before they are placed with a veteran. At the Flag Day Luncheon, hear about all the expansion across the state to reach more veterans.

Tickets for the Lunch are just $100/person. Sponsorships of various levels are also available. Seating is limited to 250 guests.

To purchase tickets, sponsor the event, or for information visit this web site,  or call Soldier’s Best Friend at 623-218-6486.