publications

Matt Burgess and Brinks

I served in the Military for eight years, with deployments to Bosnia, Macedonia, and Iraq. During those deployments, I experienced four blast explosions, creating Traumatic Brain Injury and a reaction to the Anthrax Vaccination, resulting in 18 previously nonexistent medical conditions.

I was medically retired from the Military in 2006. Two years later, after losing my house, cars, and good credit rating, I received a 100% permanent and total VA Disability Rating and Combat-Related Special Compensation.

In 2012, while enrolled at UGA, my longtime pet of 15 years passed away. Consequently, I decided to go to the Athens, GA, animal shelter to see if I could find another dog to adopt. When I walked into the first kennel, a little fluffy brown and black bundle of fur ran up and started chewing my shoelaces, almost like he was verbally pleading with me, PLEASE take me. I applied to rescue that little bundle of joy, which resulted in being approved despite the waiting list. There were six individuals ahead of me who didn’t adopt Brinks for reasons we learned later.

During his first year as an untrained pup, Brinks immediately started waking me up at night and saving my life. During sleep, I’d remove my CPAP Mask and stop breathing, often up to thirteen times per minute.

In 2013 my Pet Dog Brinks, who was already doing lifesaving tasks for me, elevated himself to an even higher level. While I was working on building a privacy fence, the wind blew a fence board, hitting me in the head and knocking me unconscious. Brinks jumped an existing five-foot wire fence and scratched on the neighbor’s door, alerting her. 

I woke up to Brinks dropping my cell phone on my chest and licking my face. In that defining, transformative, Brinks revealed our life’s purpose. Our journey will embrace a new mission: creating a Service Dog Organization. We’d find and train shelter friends forever as rescue dogs. Waiting for new homes, Brinks and I would teach them to be lifesavers, healers, and service dogs for disabled Veterans at no cost to the Veteran. Injured vets deserved the indescribable feelings of healing and self-empowerment that comes with friends like Brink.

Subsequently, I found a South Carolina-based service dog organization willing to train Brinks to be a service dog. During our time with this team of experts, I realized my gift for training and connecting with shelter dogs. I taught Brinks to be a Task Trained Service Dog consistent with The Americans with Disabilities Act. I became one of the leading trainers.

Consistent with the life purpose Brinks had previously shown me, we co-founded Freedom Fidos in 2014. After receiving our IRS 501(C)(3), nonprofit approval rating in South Carolina, Freedom Fidos spent two years there before moving the Organization to Georgia.

Fidos4Heroes( DBA Freedom Fidos) received our IRS 501(C)(3) approval rating in addition to our Georgia Corporation letter in September 2016.

Since that transformative day in our backyard five years ago, Freedom Fidos has created 42 Service Dog Teams. Our dedicated group of talented and compassionate Freedom Fidos volunteers has witnessed many miracles. Injured vets have returned to fearless, liberating feelings of no longer being alone and returning to whole lives thanks to Service friends like Brinks. They were returning to their communities, families, and friends, able to engage and be resilient, enabling miracles or nature’s ultimate healers, shelter dogs. They fulfill their mission of helping injured Veterans discover a path to a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Brinks and I and the Freedom Fidos team of dedicated volunteers are committed to continuing our journey in making a  difference in the lives of Service Canines and Veterans.

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“I had a great support system, but something was missing,” he said. “Once I got Brinks as my service dog, that final slice was given to me. That’s what a lot of veterans and people with disabilities are going through right now.”

–Matt Burgess