Reaching out to our local community by planning events and working together to bring more awareness to shelter dogs, while opening people's eyes to just how amazing these dogs truly are.

Inspired by April before she passed, I began volunteering with the veterans program at Big Dog Ranch Rescue. It was there that I discovered a passion I never knew I had.

After April's passing, I joined the program myself with one of my dogs, Max, eventually becoming a program alumni. Along the way, I also helped bring a VA program, B.A.R.C., to life, supporting it from the very beginning and helping turn the vision into a reality.

We stand up for animals who have no voice, working hand in hand with shelters to fund life saving surgeries, help transport animals to safe, loving homes, and give them the care they deserve.

We believe awareness saves lives. By shedding light on cruelty and neglect, we hope to open hearts, inspire action, and empower others to speak up for those who cannot. If you see something, say something, because every voice matters.

This is my dog, April, the reason behind everything we do. She saved my life before I became one of the 22 a day.

Her love became a legacy, one that now lives on through our mission to give shelter dogs second chances and to shine a light on veterans with PTSD and mental health awareness.

This memorial is one of the many reasons we do what we do. Seeing the name of a friend I served with etched onto a dog tag hanging from this flag shattered me in a way I was not prepared for. I gasped for air, as if all the breath had left my lungs the moment I saw his name.

That moment forced me to stop, and it became the beginning of everything this mission stands for.

What began as a story I shared with only a handful of people is now one I am sharing with the world, and it has never been comfortable.

But I was once told that courage is not the absence of fear, it is doing something even when you are terrified. Someone also told me that sharing the story of the mountain you have climbed can become someone else's survival guide. That stayed with me.