Gallery: Patriot Service Dogs Wins Defender Service Awards First Prize

Jeff Fagan of the Shamrock Animal Hospital in Mount Dora, left, and Officer V. Webb, the coordinator of the WOOF (Women Offering Obedience and Friendship) Program at Lowell Correctional Institution, right, unveil the 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Defender 130 during the Patriot Service Dogs unveiling celebration at PRP Aviation at the Ocala International Airport in Ocala, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. Patriot Service Dogs that provides service dogs to military veterans for free, was the winner of the Defender Service Awards in the Veterans Outreach category in the Land Rover-sponsored contest that recognizes U.S. and Canadian nonprofits and charities making a positive impact in their communities. Patriot Service Dogs provides service dogs free of charge to veterans with mobility problems, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and other issues from any era, regardless of combat wound status. Patriot Service Dogs received the customized Land Rover Defender and a monetary prize of $25,000 when they were announced as the winners in December 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Service dog group accepts top prizes

Patriot Service Dogs, a local nonprofit that trains and provides service dogs for military veterans, and the only Florida-based organization out of 800 entries to contend for a top prize, was the winner of the second annual Defender Service Awards in the Veterans Outreach category. The contest was sponsored by Land Rover.

On Feb. 18, at PRP Aviation at the Ocala International Airport in Ocala, group members, accompanied by several service dogs of all breeds, received a customized 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Defender 130 and $25,000.

Patriot Service Dogs places trained service dogs free of charge with honorably discharged veterans with mobility problems, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and other issues, from any era, regardless of combat wound status. Since its founding, the organization has trained and provided service dogs to more than 50 veterans, primarily through its WOOF (Women Offering Obedience and Friendship) program at the Lowell Correctional Institution north of Ocala.

To learn more, go to patriotservicedogs.org