Imagine your loved one comes home from serving our nation overseas. You expect life to settle back into normal, but instead, he can’t rest. He’s still on high alert, night after night. Sleep escapes him, and the expectation of peace begins to fade away. The only thing that seems to quiet the noise is alcohol, which creates a whole new set of problems.
For many families, this isn’t hypothetical. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 6,398 Veterans died by suicide in 2023, an average of about 17.5 per day.
Meribeth Broadway, founder of Dogs On Duty, knows this struggle personally. Years ago, her nephew returned from deployment and came to visit. He wasn’t sleeping, night terrors kept him up, and he’d started drinking just to get some rest. Meribeth invited him to stay with her for a time, but set a firm boundary (no alcohol in her home), a rule that seemed would make the stay inevitably short. But soon after he arrived, he went to the room he would stay in, contemplating how he was going to make it through the next day.
Her Akita followed him.
What happened next changed everything. The dog curled up beside him, stayed with him, and for the first time since returning home, her nephew felt safe enough to truly sleep. He slept 16 hours straight, the dog never leaving his side. Meribeth remembers that moment as a turning point: a glimpse of the quiet strength dogs can bring to people whose nervous systems have been stuck in survival mode.
While their expertise is raising and training dogs, helping people find stability, safety, and hope, runs through Dogs On Duty’s work. After sitting down with Meribeth at her incredible facility in St. Peters, MO, her passion for the dogs and their impact was palpable. Story after story poured out, and after several them had tears welling up in my eyes, it struck me: these incredible stories are just a fraction of what they do.
Founded in 2013, Dogs On Duty is a Missouri 501(c)(3) whose mission is to support working dogs and the people who rely on them.
Over the years, Meribeth has helped support and serve a wide range of working dogs, police & military K-9s, professional therapy dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs. Some support schools and communities. Some serve police departments as comfort dogs for officer wellness. Some work in dual roles, quietly protecting and serving the public in ways most people never see.
Often times police departments and other organizations have canine programs, but do not have the budget to properly maintain and care for the dogs. This leaves handlers responsible for footing the bill to get their dogs what they need. Dogs on Duty makes it their mission to be sure none of their dogs are out working without the supplies they need, like kevlar vests.
Each dog represents an extraordinary investment of time and care. Where many programs hand a dog off after a short intensive 4-6 weeks, Dogs On Duty commits to two full years, carefully raising and evaluating each dog before placement, including weekly training alongside the handler for a full year after the dog goes home. The result is a level of preparation that shows in every dog they place. One of their dogs, Winnie, recently received a commendation after being on the force for less than a week!
But perhaps nothing captures the weight of this work better than one story Meribeth shared. A recipient came to meet their potential dog while quietly in crisis. Nobody knew at the time, but she was so far down the path of despair that she had a date on the calendar that she had chosen to end her own life. Meribeth and her team had no idea, but they sensed something was urgent and gently pushed her: just take the dog home, try having him for two weeks, bring him back if you want. She reluctantly agreed, and brought the dog home. She never brought the dog back, but she did return. One year later, she reached out: “Meribeth, I want you to know today is the day, one year ago, I had planned to die. But I didn’t. And I’m here now because of that dog.”
That’s what Dogs On Duty does. They don’t just train dogs. They impact lives.
Dogs On Duty has been primarily supported by profits from Meribeth’s own businesses, a testament to her selfless commitment to the mission. She has run Unique Canine, offering training, boarding, daycare, and grooming services, as well as three DMV locations contracted through the state of Missouri. DMV contracts by Missouri are 5 year contracts, and unfortunately, due to a change in policy, two of Meribeth’s three locations were not renewed this past year, cutting roughly $200,000 in annual support for Dogs On Duty practically overnight.
As Meribeth works to creatively fill that gap, Dogs On Duty has partnered with Puzzle Fund, and they happen to have a very exciting surprise to share! It will be revealed as their puzzle is completed, one piece at a time, by donors like you. Every $20 fills in a piece, and every piece brings the surprise closer to being revealed, and goes to keep the extraordinary work of Dogs On Duty going strong.
Pieces are still available. Visit puzzle-fund.com/dogs-on-duty to view their campaign page, or donate right in the preview below. And if you know someone who may be touched by what Dogs on Duty is doing, please share this with them so they too can learn about the amazing work Meribeth and her organization are doing.