2025 Service Dog Hero of the Year

We need your vote! 

The top 5 nominees for the 2025 Service Dog Hero of the Year award include: Scroll to the bottom for their stories! (If you are having trouble loading the nominees stories, please refresh your page.)

• Achilles

• Frank

• Rocky

• Sammy

• Thor

How it works:
Select your nominee after selecting your donation value.

• $1.00 donation = 2 votes

• $5.00 donation = 15 votes

• $10.00 donation = 40 votes

• $25.00 donation = 100 votes

• $50.00 donation = 250 votes

• $75.00 donation = 400 votes

• $100.00 donation = 600 votes

• $250.00 donation = 1500 votes

• $500.00 donation = 3800 votes

Service Dogs Saving Lives:
Each year, Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs invites our Recipients to enter their dog in our Service Dog Hero of the Year Award. This award recognizes a Guardian Angels Medical Service Dog who goes above and beyond the call of their training and display extraordinary efforts to avoid a tragedy. Although there are many incredible entries, nominees are chosen by a panel of experts at Guardian Angels, who determine which service dog clearly used thinking skills above their extensive training. 

Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs Annual Service Dog Hero of the Year award is down to the final five candidates and we need your vote! 

Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, is dedicated to empowering veterans, first responders, and individuals with disabilities by donating highly trained service dogs and mental health services that help people regain independence and improve their quality of life. 

Tracy & Achilles:
Achilles demonstrated extraordinary skill, intuition, and dedication when he alerted to a serious medical emergency before any symptoms were outwardly apparent. On this occasion, Achilles alerted to my best friend while she felt completely fine and showed no visible signs of distress. Trusting Achilles’ alert, we stayed attentive—an awareness that became critically important just thirty minutes later. Without warning, she began experiencing severe chest pain, profuse sweating, and a rapid heart rate. She was rushed to the hospital with concern for a possible heart attack. After four days of monitoring and testing, doctors diagnosed her with tachycardia. Medical professionals confirmed that early awareness and rapid response were essential in managing her condition safely. Achilles’ alert came well before the emergency became obvious, demonstrating his ability to detect subtle physiological changes long before humans can recognize them. His actions provided invaluable time, ensured swift medical attention, and potentially prevented a far more serious outcome. Today, my best friend continues to share Achilles’ story with everyone she meets, expressing deep gratitude for his life-saving intervention. Achilles is more than a service dog—he is a vigilant protector, a trusted partner, and a true hero. For his early detection, unwavering reliability, and life-saving impact, Achilles is exceptionally deserving of recognition as Service Dog Hero of the Year. 🐾🏆

Rick & Frank:
Frank demonstrated extraordinary vigilance and life-saving instincts during what began as a routine late-night walk with his handler, Rick. As they walked, Frank suddenly stopped and froze, standing alert to something Rick couldn’t see. Shining his flashlight, Rick saw nothing at first. Trusting Frank’s instincts, he carefully moved forward just a few steps—and that’s when he could see around a bush and a curve: a massive alligator, at least ten feet long, lying directly on the path. Without Frank’s alert, Rick could have unknowingly walked straight into a dangerous encounter that might have had devastating consequences. Frank’s keen senses and timely intervention kept Rick safe, proving the extraordinary alertness and life-saving instincts that define the bond between a service dog and their handler. Frank exemplifies the very best of what a service dog can be: vigilant, dependable, and life-saving. For his quick thinking, courage, and unwavering dedication, Frank is an outstanding candidate for Service Dog Hero of the Year. 🐾🏆

Sarah & Rocky:
During a routine mealtime, Sarah experienced a life-threatening emergency, and Rocky’s quick instincts and remarkable presence of mind proved heroic. While eating, Sarah accidentally inhaled a piece of meat that became lodged in her throat, leaving her unable to breathe or make a sound. Panic set in as she struggled to clear her airway, her vision narrowing and her strength fading. Rocky immediately sprang into action. He jumped up at her, barking and pawing urgently. His behavior caught the attention of her family, and moments later, the obstruction was dislodged, allowing Sarah to breathe again. Rocky stayed by her side, offering comfort and support, his actions demonstrating both intelligence and extraordinary courage. Rocky’s instinctive response likely prevented a fatal outcome. His awareness and determination in a high-stress, life-threatening situation exemplify the extraordinary role a service dog can play. Since that day, Sarah has remained more mindful while eating—but she is forever grateful to Rocky for his vigilance and heroism. Rocky is more than a companion. He is a true hero, whose quick thinking and brave instincts make him a standout candidate for Service Dog Hero of the Year. 🐾🏆

Rob & Sammy:
For more than a week, Sammy, a trained service dog, detected subtle changes in Rob’s body long before he could recognize them himself. While Rob slept—on the couch or in bed—Sammy would jump up and fix her gaze on him, focused and unwavering. This was not restlessness or curiosity; it was an alert. Though Rob initially felt fine, Sammy’s behavior was consistent and intentional. Rob did what he could to rule out simple needs. He took her outside, checked on her, and reassured himself that nothing seemed wrong. But Sammy persisted. Her alerts continued, night after night, driven by something only she could sense. In the days that followed, her alerts escalated. Sammy would alert Rob and then run upstairs to the bedroom, clearly attempting to alert Rob’s wife as well. When called, she would return immediately—obedient, trained, and still determined. She repeated this pattern multiple times, refusing to abandon her task. During these moments, Rob began to notice subtle symptoms: mild breathlessness and an increased heart rate. Symptoms that were easy to dismiss. Sammy did not dismiss them. Finally, at 1:30 a.m., after yet another alert, Rob trusted what Sammy had been telling him all along. He went to the hospital because something felt wrong—not dramatically, but undeniably. At the hospital, Rob was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Only then did the past week and a half come fully into focus. Sammy had been alerting to his condition long before it became obvious or dangerous. Her repeated efforts to reach the bedroom were not confusion—they were deliberate attempts to get additional help. Sammy had recognized a medical emergency before it fully revealed itself. Rob is now profoundly aware that Sammy’s vigilance, persistence, and training made a critical difference. Her refusal to stop alerting likely prevented a far more serious outcome. She did exactly what she was trained to do—detect, alert, and protect—but she did it with extraordinary determination. Sammy is more than a service dog. She is a guardian, a partner, and a lifesaver. For her early detection, unwavering persistence, and life-saving intervention, Sammy exemplifies the very best of what a service dog can be. She is a true hero—deeply deserving of recognition as Service Dog Hero of the Year. 🏆🐾

Sean & Thor:
We’ve always been in sync, Thor and I. Long before I understood what was happening inside my body, Thor sensed it. After a recent fall where I hit my head, doctors ordered full-body scans. That’s when I discovered—almost by accident—that I have degenerative disc disease in my lower back, and that it’s progressing. I went to the doctor simply to ask questions about that diagnosis, trying to understand what it meant for my future. My body was already struggling in ways I couldn’t yet explain, but Thor knew. He always does. That night, worn down from pain and exhaustion, I fell asleep on the floor while watching a movie. When I woke up the next morning, I couldn’t move my legs. It was the second time this had happened. My wife, Sarah, was home, but upstairs in a work meeting. She couldn’t hear me calling. I was alone on the floor, unable to move, unsure how long I would be stuck there—or what might happen next. Except I wasn’t alone. Thor came to me immediately. He laid down beside me and stayed there for over an hour, licking my head, calming me, keeping me grounded. When I still couldn’t move, he did something extraordinary. I grabbed ahold of him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and Thor took action. He slowly pulled me toward the couch. Then he placed his head under my chest and lifted, using his body to brace and support me until I was safely up. He never left my side. Once I was on the couch, I was able to use my phone to call Sarah. Thor stayed with me until help arrived. Even then, he refused to leave me, and Sarah had to physically guide him outside just to take care of his basic needs. I don’t know how long I would have been lying on that floor without Thor. He wasn’t trained for what he did that morning —other than bracing— but he saved me anyway. On my darkest days, when my body fails me completely, Thor is there. He has never left me. I truly believe I wouldn’t be here without him. Thor is more than a service dog. He is my protector, my constant, my lifeline. And when everything else failed, he knew exactly what to do. That is what a hero looks like - a candidate for Service Dog Hero of the Year. 🏆