It has been sadly a long-standing policy at Mountville that we can't allow pets, including human's best friends. But this weekend you’ll see Mountville Advisory Board members Amy & Stephen Brand walking around the grounds with Guess, their service dog in training. The Brands are volunteer puppy raisers for Mutts with a Mission (MWAM), and Mountville is a great training experience for Guess!

MWAM, founded in 2008, is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Virginia Beach that trains service dogs for disabled veterans, first responders, and law enforcement; provides facility dogs to law enforcement departments; and places expeditionary facility dogs on select Navy ships.

Guess, a 7-month old yellow lab, is the Brands’ third puppy for MWAM. Their first dog, Demo, is assigned to the U.S.S. Eisenhower as an expeditionary facility dog and deployed to the Middle East in 2023-24. Their second dog, Neo, just graduated and now is partnered with a retired Navy vet in Florida.

Amy & Stephen are happy to talk about Guess and MWAM, but please do not pet her without permission. To learn more or to make a tax-deductible donation to this great program, please visit www.muttswithamission.org.

Postscript: Guess very much enjoyed her training at Mountville, and was a VERY good dog!