Funding will repair storm-damaged facilities, strengthen campus resiliency, and expand the organization’s ability to serve veterans with disabilities
WILLISTON, FL. August 4, 2026 – Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs has been awarded a $700,000 state appropriation through Florida’s Fiscal Year 2026–2027 General Appropriations Act to restore and modernize its Florida campus and strengthen its ability to serve veterans living with permanent disabilities.
The funding was included in HB 5001E, the 2026–2027 General Appropriations Act, under project references HF 2730 and SF 1392. The appropriation includes $56,000 for operational support and $644,000 for fixed capital improvements to improve Guardian Angels’ ability to serve disabled veterans.
Guardian Angels’ approximately 20-year-old Florida campus has sustained extensive wear over the years, and damage from numerous tropical storms and hurricanes. The appropriation will be used primarily to repair, refurbish, and update the campus, including additions and improvements to their dog housing and kennels, fencing, electrical systems, and training facilities.
The planned improvements will create a safer, more storm-resilient, and more effective environment for training medical service dogs and preparing them for their life-changing partnerships.
“This appropriation represents far more than repairs to buildings. It is an investment in the veterans whose lives can be transformed through the partnership of a highly trained medical service dog,” said Carol Borden, founder and CEO of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs. “We are deeply grateful to Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Jay Trumbull and Representative Alex Andrade for recognizing the importance of our mission and helping us protect the Florida campus where so much of this life-changing work begins.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the state’s Fiscal Year 2026–2027 budget on June 29, 2026. The budget subsequently became law as Chapter 2026-232.
“This funding gives us the opportunity to address critical campus needs while making thoughtful improvements that will serve our organization, our dogs and our recipients for years to come,” said Mary Jo Brandt, chief operating officer of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs. “A safe, functional and storm-resilient campus is essential to maintaining the quality of our training programs and expanding our ability to serve more veterans. We sincerely thank Florida’s leaders for their confidence in our work.”
Guardian Angels expects the restoration project to begin in August or September with completion anticipated by the end of the first quarter of 2027, if not sooner. When completed, the improvements are expected to help the organization train and care for additional medical service dogs, serve more veterans each year and better protect its facilities from future severe-weather events.
The organization anticipates working with Florida-based contractors and vendors whenever possible, extending the appropriation’s economic impact into the surrounding community.
Guardian Angels anticipates pairing about 50 service dog teams this year. We maintain a large number of employees on this campus, as well as weekly volunteers. The restored campus will improve the housing for all of our dogs and reduce the intense labor and lost training time during inclement weather. Previously, we could lose up to a month of training time with each storm as we had to prepare the entire campus, move all the dogs, then clean up and do repairs from the storm before the dogs could go back to their shelters. Now our dogs and employees will remain safe in their housing and training areas without interruption.
Making these improvements means we can get our life-changing, life-saving dogs in the hands of deserving individuals more quickly. This is critical as we have heard over and over from our recipients that “I would not be walking this earth today if it weren’t for my 4-legged Guardian Angel.”
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs trains highly skilled service dogs to mitigate the challenges associated with disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, mobility limitations, seizure disorders, and diabetic conditions. They have reduced the recipient’s disability challenges by nearly 60% and maintain zero suicides. Each dog is individually trained to meet its recipient’s needs and is provided at no cost to the recipient.
The campus restoration will help preserve Guardian Angels’ training operations, strengthen the organization’s resilience against future severe weather and support its continued work restoring dignity, independence and hope to veterans and others living with disabilities.
Carol Borden, Mary Jo Brandt and Guardian Angels veteran recipients are available for media interviews. Campus tours, filming opportunities, photographs and service-dog training footage may also be arranged upon request.
For more information, visit MedicalServiceDogs.org.
Mrs. Borden’s expertise and accomplishments are acknowledged by numerous national awards from various industries and agencies including the 2018 Corporate Pet Industry Woman of the Year and multiple awards for her organization’s work in mental health and suicide prevention.
She is frequently requested as a Keynote Speaker, and as an Industry Consultant to teach service dog laws to judicial systems, attorneys, and businesses, and to assist in service dog bills in multiple states that were passed into law. In 2020, she started an Institute for Higher Learning and the Borden Veterinary Hospital. Additionally, she has written and teaches college-accredited/VA-approved apprenticeship courses on dog training and service dog training.
