The Warrior Dog Foundation was founded by former US Navy SEAL Mike Ritland. Mr. Ritland served 12 years as a US Navy SEAL and saw action in Operation Iraqi Freedom, numerous special operations missions and went on to serve as Naval Special Warfare Multi-Purpose Canine (MPC) Trainer for the West Coast. After his service, Mike founded Trikos International, which specializes in providing working K9s to government agencies and private individuals including the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Police Departments across the US.

In 2010, the Special Ops Community contacted Mike when they had two dogs whose temperaments and characters were such that being placed with their handlers or any other kind of more traditional ‘adoption’ scenario was not feasible. In a decision driven by his heart and out of respect and love for the Special Ops Community Mike quickly agreed to accept dogs Arko and Carlos, and help with any other dog down the line. Determined to give these dogs the best life possible the Warrior Dog Foundation was born. Officially established in 2013 the foundation retired, rehabilitated and forever re-homed over 170 K9s.