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, group members, accompanied by several service dogs of all breeds, received a customized 2023 Land 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