Guardian Angels Medical Service dog program

Service dogs spend more than 1,500 hours becoming certified to help individuals with various disabilities such as PTSD or others who are quadriplegic, in the Guardian Angels Medical Service dog program.

A portion of the training happens when foster families take in the dogs as puppies and bring them to classes at the Naples Humane Society once a week.

A couple who has been training dogs for years says these dogs have an incredible impact on the people they are assigned to.

“She had never had a dog growing up…I had one but not in 40 years, so to get a dog it was like do we really want to do this?,” said Chuck and Debbie Vitale, who have fostered 25 dogs with the Guardian Angels dog program.

The couple follows the lives of their former foster dogs once they graduate the program and move on to new owners to care for. They say when hearing the stories, it makes it clear they have helped change lives.

One of their dogs went to a Marine named Mike who suffered from seizures following two tours in Afghanistan.

“Mike wasn’t living a good life.  When he got Julie, he smells when his body is changing and lets him known ‘start taking your meds’ and it’s my understanding that since he got Julie he has not been hospitalized,” said Chuck and Debbie.

They say they cry when they see the service dogs move up, bu the tears are only from joy of knowing they have helped another person in need.

If you would like to sign up to join the Guardian Angels Medical Service dog program visit their website here.