Samantha Brinegar K9 Trainer/behaviorist and Vice President, (AKC Certified Trainer) has the same mission. Her goal is to rehabilitate rescued animals and so they can be adopted out. With her dog training experience and her current position as the K9 behavioralist and trainer with the Prisoner Uniting People & Pups (PUPP) program at Sierra Contravention Center and Friends of the Animal Community (FOAC), her goal is to take the dogs no one else wants and give them a future. Sam was in the Army for 15 years. Veteran and trainer Samantha is working on a curriculum with the University of Denver to make it possible for incarcerated Veterans to be able to obtain an AS degree in canine studies.

Wiley's Story

Wiley, my rescued fur angel dog, inspired me to start the journey of saving animals’ lives full-time.

Hi, my name is Sam. I was in the Army for 15 years.

I found Wiley in the desert in Wickenburg Arizona. She was either dumped or had been swept over by a monsoon. Finding her in the desert honestly broke my heart.

I had just made some major changes in my life and I felt very abandoned and alone. I am sure that she too felt the same way. I could not leave her there alone. It turns out, we needed each other and I didn’t even realize how much I needed her until after I had her.

I posted flyers in case she was lost, but no one claimed her. It was really sad that no one claimed her. She was scared and alone, and no one wanted her, but I wanted her. After several deployments, I was medically retired by the Army.

I was depressed, suicidal, and experiencing PTSD symptoms.

Wiley saved my life and impacted every part of me. Knowing that she needed me to take care of her gave me a reason to wake up in the morning and to be ok. Having her as a companion/service dog helped me with my PTSD. She helped me stay alive long enough to meet Angel Kleiner, my business partner. Angle believed in my dream of saving animals and training service dogs for Veterans and 1st Responders. Angel’s dream has always been to save animals and give them a loving forever home, so together, we were able to create Wiley’s Wish Animal Rescue.