About The

Warrior Dog Foundation

Our Mission

The Warrior Dog Foundation transitions our country’s working K9s from an operational environment into retirement. Providing mental and physical rehabilitation, and rehoming options to Military Working Dogs (MWD), Contract Working Dogs (CWD) and Law Enforcement K9s that otherwise would be euthanized.

Our Goals

The Warrior Dog Foundation exists to provide the highest level of retirement care to working dogs who have dedicated their lives to serving our country and communities! We provide mental and physical rehabilitation to these four-legged veterans so they can be adopted into a forever home; if this is not possible, they are cared for by us for the rest of their lives. We want to see all military, contract, and law enforcement dogs who are no longer able to work rehabilitated and rehomed – our goal is to help them retire with dignity. These heroes have endured intense situations, saved lives, and protected our service personnel and our freedoms. Yet like many human veterans, they return home with physical and mental injuries. Because these special dogs may have a bite history, aggression, and other traits that render them unadoptable, they are often euthanized. They deserve better! We take these K9s in and help them heal so they can transition to civilian life and live out the rest of their retirement in peace.

Our Methods

Because of how these dogs have been trained and what they have experienced in their working career, we have to maintain extreme vigilance and attention to detail when developing and executing rehabilitation protocols for each K9 we take in. This begins with providing handlers who have the necessary expertise to work with MWD (military working dogs), CWD (contract working dogs), and LEO K9s (law enforcement dogs). Then we create a rehab protocol based on information given to us by their previous unit and our own professional evaluation. The rehab protocols will use a combination of mental stimulation/engagement, proper nutrition, supplements, and exercise to address their issues and help them become adoptable, well-adjusted dogs. The rehab protocol success is measured by a decrease in the symptoms that these unadoptable service dogs initially present. These symptoms can include:

Loud noise reactivity
Tactile sensitivity
Perceived confrontational body language reactivity
Extreme resource guarding
Aversion to being crated
Grooming sensitivity
Aggression towards other dogs
Environmental sensitivity
Hyperreactivity to stimuli
K9 PTSD

Rehabilitation takes place in our state-of-the-art kennel facility. If these dogs are able to make the progress necessary to be adopted, we help place them in a loving and respectful home; if these dogs are never able to overcome their difficulties, we care for them ourselves and they are able to live out the rest of their days in peace.

Our “Why”

‘These dogs have saved countless lives and prevented innumerable horrific injuries. As a nation, we owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude’~Mike Ritland These dogs have done so much for us, and they don’t deserve to be put down. They deserve rest, respect, and a dignified retirement. To date, we have rehabilitated and rehomed over 170 K9s. When you donate to The Warrior Dog Foundation, you help us give more hero dogs a chance at a peaceful life after service.

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