09/06/2026
💔 A VERY PERSONAL AND HEARTBREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM DFW CANINES FOR VETERANS 💔
I have rewritten this a hundred times in my head, and honestly, I still don’t know how to say it.
With the heaviest heart, I have to announce that DFW Canines for Veterans will be closing as of January 2027.
We will finish our final service dog currently in training, but after that, we will no longer be training service dogs.
This isn’t because I want to stop.
I don’t.
If my heart could keep doing this forever, I would.
Unfortunately, my body no longer gives me that choice.
I have Muscular Dystrophy, and the progression of my disease has reached the point where I can no longer physically do what is required to train service dogs. It has become increasingly difficult, both physically and emotionally, and I have had to finally accept something I have fought very hard not to accept.
My disease is progressive and terminal. There is no cure.
And that sentence is incredibly hard for me to write.
For so many years, I poured everything I had into these dogs and these veterans. I didn’t do this because it was easy. I did it because I believed these veterans deserved a chance to get their lives back.
When I started DFW Canines for Veterans, my dream was simply to help one veteran save and regain their life.
Just one.
Somehow, that one turned into so many more.
And along the way, we saved dogs who otherwise may never have gotten a second chance. Dogs that came from kill shelters and were given a completely different future. We watched them grow, learn, overcome obstacles, and eventually become someone’s lifeline.
There are no words big enough to explain what that has meant to me.
This organization became so much more than an organization.
It became my life.
It gave me purpose. It gave me people I never would have met. It gave me friendships that became family. It gave me memories that I will carry with me forever.
We have laughed until we cried. We have cried when things didn’t go the way we hoped. We have celebrated victories that most people would never understand. We have watched veterans take steps toward, lives they weren’t sure they could have again.
And those moments will forever be some of the most important moments of my life.
Walking away from this is absolutely heartbreaking.
Veteran su***de & PTSD is near and dear to my heart. That has always been two of the biggest reasons I fought so hard to do what we did. Knowing there are veterans out there struggling and knowing that I can’t continue doing this work the way I have for so many years is something I am still trying to come to terms with.
But I also know that I have to listen to my body.
I have to accept that sometimes loving something means knowing when you can no longer give it everything it deserves.
So, this isn’t goodbye because I stopped caring.
It’s goodbye because my body is making the decision for me.
I want every veteran we have helped to know that you mattered to me. Every single one.
Every dog we saved mattered.
Every volunteer who gave their time mattered.
Every donor who believed in us mattered.
Every person who shared a post, donated supplies, encouraged us, prayed for us, or simply told us to keep going mattered.
You were part of this.
You helped me build something I never imagined I could build.
I don’t know what the next chapter of my life looks like. For the first time in a very long time, I don’t have another dog waiting to train, another veteran waiting to meet their dog, or another goal sitting on my calendar.
That’s scary.
It’s sad.
And honestly, I’m grieving.
I’m grieving the organization. I’m grieving the dogs. I’m grieving the veterans I won’t get the opportunity to help. And I’m grieving the part of myself that has been so deeply connected to this mission for so many years.
But underneath all of that grief is an enormous amount of gratitude.
I got to do something that mattered.
I got to help veterans.
I got to save dogs.
I got to meet incredible people.
I got to build friendships and family.
And I got to say at the end of this chapter:
We made a difference.
That is something no disease can ever take away from me.
Thank you for loving DFW Canines for Veterans.
Thank you for loving our veterans.
Thank you for loving our dogs.
And most of all, thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving our veterans that gave all.
I may be stepping away from training, but I will never stop caring about the veterans and dogs who brought so much meaning to my life.
With all my heart,
Melissa Vann
President & Trainer
DFW Canines for Veterans ❤️🐾🇺🇸
