About the Inspiration

Mike Masters, affectionately known as the DogFather, co-founded MasterPeace Dog Training in Franklin with his wife, Fran, in 2001. Fran continues to run the center today. Mike was a passionate dog owner, trainer, and competitor, most notably with his service dog, Paxton, a Spinone Italiano. His passing in June 2015, joining Boo and Paxton on the Rainbow Bridge, was a significant loss to the agility and dog community.

Mike's deep love for dogs was mutual; they adored him just as much. He began teaching agility in the 1990s when the sport was in its infancy. Many top agility competitors who now hold multiple MACH titles started their journey with Mike's guidance. Truly, he was the DogFather.

Remarkably, Mike was training his own service dogs since the early 1980s, long before the concept of service dogs was widely recognized. In one memorable instance, he crawled up a flight of stairs from his wheelchair to demonstrate to a landlord the necessity of his service dog, Mariah, for operating elevator buttons. Following Mariah, Mike self-trained two more Golden Retrievers and Paxton, his heart dog, as service dogs. He also assisted many others with disabilities in training their own service dogs at MasterPeace Dog Training. Mike’s legacy endures through the MasterPeace Service Dog program.