Organization matching medical service dogs with veterans getting new home

A 102-acre lot near the Pittsburgh International Airport will soon be the future home of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs.

It’s an organization that matches medical service dogs with veterans to save their lives.

“Without her, I would have taken my own life,” said Craig Hodgkins. “I had given up. 100% . I had given up.”

Craig Hodgkins enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 years old and served for 21 years before retiring.

“Being a combat veteran, I was dealing with a lot of nightmares,” said Hodgkins.

Besides PTSD, he says he also lives with neurological issues from his military service.

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“I started going into a deep and dark place,” said Hodgkins.

That was until Foxy. Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs matched Craig with Foxy in May 2020. Since the organization started in Florida in 2010, about 400 veterans in nearly 30 states have received a service dog.

“Not one veteran has taken their own life who’s had a dog,” said Hodgkins. “I don’t even consider it anymore since I’ve got her.”

Guardian Angels is looking to touch even more lives in western Pennsylvania. It’s planning to do that by opening a new campus about 10 miles from the airport.

“We will have on this campus, at any given time, 80 dogs being rescued, raised and trained as medical service dogs,” said Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs regional development director Jack Wagner.

Former State Sen. Jack Wagner says the need is great in our area.

“Guardian Angels is going to double its capacity of helping people,” said Wagner.

And giving those who served our country such as Craig, as he calls it, a new “leash” on life. That’s the title of a song he wrote shortly after Foxy came into his life.

Guardian Angels expects to break ground in the beginning of 2023 and be operational by the middle of 2024.

The new campus costs about $20 million. At this point, they’re about a third of the way there.

To learn more or donate to the organization, click here.

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