Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs is honored to have been awarded the Department of Labor’s HIRE Vets Gold Medallion for 2019. In fact, we are the only company or organization in all of Levy, Alachua, Gilchrist, Dixie, Marion and Citrus Florida Counties combined to receive the award.
The HIRE Vets program is designed to recognize employer efforts to recruit, employ and retain veteran employees.
About the Hire Vets Program: “The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act of 2017 (HIRE Vets Act or the Act), signed by President Trump on May 5, 2017, requires the Secretary of Labor to establish a program, by rule, that recognizes employer efforts to recruit, employ, and retain veterans. Employer-applicants meeting criteria established in the rule will receive a “HIRE Vets Medallion Award.” There are two award tiers: platinum and gold. For each award, the employer must satisfy a set of criteria. Verification of these criteria includes a self-attestation by the applicant and a check for violations of veteran-related DOL labor laws by the U.S. Department of Labor.
#TeamNick & #TeamRhino Enter Hero Dog Awards
Our recipients may be of different genders, with different medical conditions and different histories. They may live half way across the country from each other, but #TeamNick and #TeamRhino share 3 very important things:
- They both have Service Dogs that come from Guardian A
ngels Medical Service Dogs. - They’ve both had their lives saved by their Service Dogs.
- And they’ve both thought the world should know how amazing their Service Dogs are!
Recipient Gina is a former first-responder and lives in Colorado with her Super Service Dog Rhino.
Rhino is a seizure-alert dog that helps keep Gina safe before, during and after a seizure occurs.
Check out her video below as she explains how Rhino makes a difference in her life:
You can vote for #TeamRhino through May 7th at: http://herodogawards.org/dog/rhino-the-apache-warrior/
Recipient Jody is a veteran of both the Army and the Navy, and lives in the Pittsburgh area.
Nick is a PTSD and Diabetic alert Service Dog. Check out Jody’s video on why he decided to nominate his Service Dog, Nick:
You can vote for #TeamNick through May 7th at:http://herodogawards.org/dog/nick/
Getting Noticed!
The good folks at KDKA in Pittsburgh have noticed, and recently did a story about Nick’s entry – check it out!
Foster Trainer, Chuck with one of his future Service Dog Fosters
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Foster Family Program Expands into Pittsburgh
Williston, FLA: Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Williston, Florida announces the expansion of its Foster Family Training Program into Pittsburgh and surrounding areas as part of a larger expansion into Pennsylvania.
In 2019, Guardian Angels purchased a large tract of land along the Montour Trail just outside of Pittsburgh, with plans to build a state-of-the-art service dog training facility and college accredited apprenticeship school. As ground-breaking nears, the time is right to bring our foster family training program to the greater Pittsburgh area, with other programs soon to follow.
Our Foster Family program is unique as you don’t have to worry about the demanding level of attention required by a new puppy. Instead, you will typically foster a young dog that has already had a great deal of training or a rescue dog, both of whom will need your help with learning good house manners and public access exposure. You will foster for only a few weeks, during which time you will attend class once a week.
Our regional growth includes a partnership with SCI Mercer and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to teach new skills to incarcerated veteran at Mercer, thanks in large part to the efforts of Senator Michele Brooks. This program, like our foster program, will help us train more dogs simultaneously to meet demand, while still delivering the highest quality dog training available nationwide.
If you’d like to learn more about our campus plans, please visit our campus-building page at: https://www.medicalservicedogs.org/.
If you are interested in learning about our Family Foster Program, and having a future Service Dog stay and train with you for several weeks, please visit: https://www.medicalservicedogs.org/foster-family/.
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs is a 501(C)3 headquartered in Florida that rescues, raises, trains and then donates individually trained medical service dogs to veterans, first-responders and others who suffer from disabilities including PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, seizure and diabetic disorders, mobility issues and much more. Over the past 10 years, Guardian Angels has paired nearly 350 individually trained medical service dogs with recipients in 24 states and trained the #1 Service Dog in the US and the top American Dog Hero. With your help, that number can continue to grow. Visit our website at: www.MedicalServiceDogs.org to get involved or learn more.
WDTN News covers the Mutt Strut Kick-Off Breakfast. The beginning of Dayton’s first Annual Mutt Strut fundraising event, hosted by PNC Bank.
While this fun-fundraising event is seeing it’s first time in Dayton, PNC has hosted the event for the past 2 years in Pittsburgh, and last year, adding Erie, PA to the lineup. This year will mark the first time the Mutt Strut will be held in 3 locations.
The recent Chubb Classic PGA golf tournament teamed up with Waste Management to feature a birdie contest – for every 50 birdies, they would donate $1,000 (up to $5,000) to a charity of their choosing. We were honored beyond words that they chose Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs to contribute to this year.
See the full story by ABC Here: http://www.naplesnews.com
Watch this amazing story about Veteran Tom and the difference his Super Service Dog, Camo has made in his life – done by Sarah Arbogast at KDKA
Our book, Ranger: A PTSD Service Dog is getting lots of attention! Written for us by Laura Cassar and Illustrated by Gail Diedrichsen, this great book, helps children understand why the #ServiceDog is such a special member of their family, and how he differs from their other pets. The Daily Herald, based in Illinois did a terrific interview with Illustrator, Gail.
Click HERE to read the article.
If you’d like to purchase your very own copy of Ranger: A PTSD Service Dog please click HERE to visit our online store.
Each year, Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs selects one dog that has gone above & beyond the call of duty. The 2015 winner was recipient David’s Super #ServiceDog, Sasha.
Here’s Sasha’s Story:
I always keep my bedroom door slightly open because Sasha patrols between my room and my apartment partner’s bedroom at night. Without realizing what had happened, I closed my door that evening because Sasha was barking at, what I thought were shadows. During the night, Sasha continued to bark and come back and forth between my bed and the door. I finally got up to check if someone had broken into the apartment. What I found when I got up was my roommate, Jody, laying in the hallway between our bedrooms. Jody had fallen into a “low blood sugar” comma. This is what Sasha was trying to alert me to earlier. Even though Jody didn’t recognize either Sasha or me, Sasha would not leave his side while I called 911 to summon help. Sasha continued to remain by his side until the emergency crew stabilized Jody and then loaded him into the ambulance. There is no doubt Sasha saved Jody’s life that evening. There is only one Sasha and I thank God and Guardian Angels she is my partner.
David
Eric & Sun
Here’s a terrific interview from Michigan, done by our very first Michigan recipient, Eric with Lansing State Journal’s Judy Putnam, talking about the brand new Michigan #ServiceDog Law, that went into effect on Monday, January 18, 2016.
Great article about Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs written by Darren Yuvan, and published on Monday, November 8, 2021.
Click here to read the full article, or see the pdf attached below:
If you’d like to help the next veteran on our waiting list be paired with a Service Dog this Veterans’ Day, please go Here
Pictured above are: Recipient Craig & his Service Dog, Foxy, Guardian Angels Medical Service Dog Regional Coordinator, Jack Wagner and (in white uniform) Life Changing Service Dogs for Veterans President, Bill Jeffcoat.
In the article by Harry Funk, Recipient Craig talks about the many changes Service Dog Foxy has made in his life – both physically and mentally.
He states: “I was just ready to give up completely. I was done,” U.S. Marine Corps veteran Craig said. The Mt. Lebanon resident had gone through multiple surgeries, gained weight, become reclusive, alienated his family. As a result, he seriously contemplated following the path of the estimated 22 veterans who take their lives each day in the United States. Foxy accompanies Craig Hodgkins everywhere. Then he met Foxy, his constant companion provided to him at no charge by Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Inc.
“Since I’ve had Foxy, I’ve lost 46 pounds from going out and doing walks with her,” he said, adding he now fits into his master sergeant’s uniform for the first time in a decade. He wore the uniform as one of the keynote speakers at Collier Township’s first-ever Salute to Veterans Brunch, held Wednesday at the township community center. Joining him was Bill Jeffcoat, president of Life Changing Service Dogs for Veterans, a Pittsburgh-area volunteer group that supports Florida-based Guardian Angels.”
to read the full article, please visit: https://thealmanac.net/news/veterans-tout-benefits-of-medical-service-dogs-as-lifesavers/article_19f6e442-4261-11ec-bd19-435db0655d76.html
