Brett Favre's bringing pups to military veterans in need ... and so far, the results have been incredible -- 'cause the NFL legend tells TMZ Sports it's "saving" vets' lives.
The Hall of Famer created the 4 Outdoors program after retiring from football ... and while the plan is to use outdoor experiences to help people in need -- he's found the most success uniting vets with trained service dogs.
"We're connecting them with these dogs and it's saving their lives," Favre says. "It's really incredible."
The dogs aren't just cute as hell -- they're expensive .