Show notes
Mike Ritland served as a United States Navy SEAL for 12 years.
During his service, he navigated the training ground and battlefield within the special operations community. While on deployment in Iraq with a group of Marines and their combat K9, this highly trained combat dog saved the Marines' lives during a dangerous operation, making the K9 a true hero. And just like that, a light switch went off for Mike.
Using the knowledge gained as a SEAL and his growing experience with the most elite dogs in the world, he left the military in 2008 to start his own dog company, Trikos International. Trikos' reputation, forged from Mike's career as a SEAL, grew rapidly. The company was awarded government contracts with DHS, DOD, TSA, and Customs & Border Protection. Circa 2010, Mike Ritland and Trikos International accepted the contract as the training group for the West Coast SEAL Canine Program and reunited Mike with his former teammates.
Trikos became a highly reputable dog training & procurement company that specialized in providing working K9s to a multitude of clients to include celebrities, private individuals, and government agencies.
Mike's career brought him full circle while working on the West Coast. He discovered that former high-level working dogs were being euthanized when they could no longer serve. Most of these dogs were psychologically compromised from chaotic and traumatic experiences that occurred while "doing the job." After years of service in some of the worst places on earth, they were physically broken down, causing many to default to aggression. Mike saw this as another opportunity to make an impact, so he started the Warrior Dog Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to prevent euthanization and provide care & dignity to retired working dogs who have served in any capacity. Some dogs are rehabbed or rehomed, if possible. For others, the goal is to make them comfortable while bringing them back to health.
Since 2010, the foundation has cared for over 200 dogs who were all scheduled for euthanization. Training and rehabbing the finest working dogs on the globe provided empirical data for what all breeds require mentally, physically, and emotionally. The methods and proper canine nutrition required to care for these warriors further expanded Mike's experience, thus revolutionizing his methods.
Warrior Dog Foundation: https://warriordogfoundation.org/
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