the story behind the mission
Michelle Dunlap founded Service Dogs for Patriots in 2017 to address the need for trained service dogs to assist veterans with PTSD. Her motivation for creating this nonprofit organization was quite personal to her. Michelle was at the beginning of her teaching career when she suffered a devastating brain injury. The debilitating cognitive effects, memory loss, and executive dysfunction ended her teaching career that she’d worked so hard to achieve. Suddenly, processing language and written information was nearly impossible. Looking to find some meaning from this ruinous injury, Michelle realized she was still able to understand the “language” of dogs. As a volunteer with animal rescue, she began to focus on training her foster dogs, often solving difficult behavior issues. Building on this skill set, Michelle started her own dog training company, Gainesville Canine Academy, in 2003.
Michelle remained active in the animal rescue community, founding Phoenix Animal Rescue. This is how she met a very special pit bull, whom she named Amber. Michelle and Amber had a strong connection, and Amber was able to keep Michelle grounded, responded to her anxiety escalations, and learned to “read” Michelle’s behavior to better respond to her medical needs. Amber and Michelle began training together to sharpen Amber’s skills as a service dog for Michelle, enabling Michelle to tackle previously impossible tasks like grocery shopping, traveling, and managing basic life requirements. Michelle realized she could do much more cognitive work when Amber was there to assist.
Through Phoenix Animal Rescue, Michelle met other dogs who were up to the task of service dog training. When a volunteer mentioned their combat-related PTSD symptoms, it was evident their brain processed sensory information in the same chaotic way Michelle did. As she learned more about brain injuries, she realized significant similarities in veterans experiencing PTSD and how she saw, heard, smelled, felt, and reacted to stimuli. Michelle began connecting with veterans battling PTSD to match them with rescued dogs whom she then trained to become PTSD service dogs. After a year of working with veterans to train their own dogs, Michelle found they had similar results as she did with Amber. She began thinking of how she could better meet their needs.
One afternoon, Michelle got a phone call from a frustrated veteran who was desperate for help. He’d heard Michelle trained service dogs for some veterans and he needed a service dog’s assistance immediately. Soon after, a Vietnam veteran approached her at an event asking about service dogs. This veteran was a leader in the Rolling Thunder, a national non-profit veteran advocacy group known for its large gatherings of motorcycle groups, and he had tears in his eyes as he described his torment from combat-related PTSD. It became very clear to Michelle that her mission was to help these veterans, and many more like them, by providing service dog training. Thus began Service Dogs for Patriots.
meet our team
Susie Keel, Board Member
Susie Keel is a professional dog trainer, dog handler, and dog behavior consultant. Susie currently is a judge for the AKC Farm Dog Certified Test. Susie's dog is a Staffordshire bull terrier named Whitby. Susie has served as the Board Secretary since its inception in 2017.
Barbara Janowitz, Board Member
Barbara Janowitz is a long-time employee of the University of Florida as a grant administrator. She is passionate about rescued dogs, her family, and the University of Florida Gators. She shares her life with a chonky pit bull named Floyd. Barbara has served on the board since 2019.
Andrew Poe, Board Member
Andrew Poe is a Gainesville, FL business owner and realtor with a deep passion for supporting veterans. He began serving on the Board in 2022
Matt Flint, Executive Director
Anya Douglas, Social Media Contributor
As a retired U.S. Army Infantryman, a certified Chaplain, and a proud graduate of this program, I bring a deeply personal connection to the mission we share: Instilling independence, confidence, and freedom in veterans battling PTSD through training their own service dogs.
Having experienced firsthand the transformative impact this program can have, I am committed to ensuring its continued success and growth. I am excited to collaborate with our community, partners, and supporters to expand our reach and empower even more veterans to reclaim their lives through this life-changing journey.
Anya Douglas, Social Media Contributor
Anya Douglas, Social Media Contributor
Anya Douglas, Social Media Contributor
Anya served in the Marines as a Gunnery Sergeant and has worked for 21 years in public safety - Fire, EMS, and Law Enforcement. Anya has traveled the world on medical missions, including North Africa, South Africa, South and Central America, Mexico, Nepal, Tibet, India, Europe, and Asia. She now works in education and shares her life with Brody, a Yorkie/Shih Tzu mix, and Rosie, a Chihuahua.
Open Board Seat
Anya Douglas, Social Media Contributor
Anya Douglas, Social Media Contributor
We currently have one open board seat.
And because SD Niko is so stinkin' cute, we'll let him have this solo photo opp until we fill this position with a human.