Whalen’s Heroes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed to provide money to veterans and first responders with the goal of helping them get service dogs.
“We wanted to give back to those who give so much to us,” said founder Dawn Whalen.
To raise the needed funds, Whalen’s Heroes has several monthly donors, corporate sponsors who donate a set amount each year and several fundraisers they host throughout the year.
“We have our third annual car show coming up in August at the New Palestine Lions Club,” Whalen said. “We’ll have a food truck, a DJ, some vendors and, of course, a lot of really cool cars.”
The entry fee is $20 per car, collected on the day of the show. Whalen’s Heroes will also be reaching out to other veteran organizations and offering them a free spot at the event so they can promote their causes.
“Our first time ever hosting the car show, we had a gentleman drive up from Jefferson, Indiana,” Whalen said. “He was a really strong supporter of veterans — drove up, showed his car and donated $2,000 to our cause.”
In addition to the annual car show, Whalen’s Heroes has hosted an annual bowling event for the last two years. At their 2024 bowling event, the organization gave away two service dogs.
“Being able to do that, seeing the joy on their faces and hearing the happiness from our recipients … If I’ve done nothing else right in life, this is one thing I have done right,” Whalen said.
Before founding Whalen’s Heroes, Whalen worked solely as a realtor.
“My realtor job is what paid the bills,” she said. “But in my time as a realtor, I worked with a lot of veterans and active-duty persons. It seemed to be the majority of my clientele. I quickly noticed that a lot of veterans were getting rejected because they were trying to use a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan.”
This upset Whalen. She quickly enrolled in a continuing education class to learn more about VA home loans.
“[VA loans] were never a bad thing, in my opinion,” she said. “Veterans signed a blank check with their lives to help [civilians]. At the CE class I attended, a service dog was given away to a veteran. I started crying after hearing what our veterans go through when they come home. So, I created this whole long list of things I wanted to do to help. I determined what would make the biggest impact, and that was the service dog — not just for the veteran, but for that family in general.”
Gabe Fleck is a Navy veteran who met his service dog, Alice, through Whalen’s Heroes. He is a husband and father of four.
When returning to civilian life, Fleck recalls facing ongoing physical pain from previous injuries, along with depression and anxiety.
“There were a lot of jobs that I went to that didn’t quite understand my struggles with pain and the PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] surrounding it,” Fleck said. “Most of my anxiety was knowing that I would never be the same physically after my surgeries.”
Alice was introduced to Gabe in February 2024 to determine if they would be a good fit.
“I fell in love from the first pet,” Fleck said. “[Alice] took to my family and was a huge hit. I then started training with her in July 2024. It took about a week for her to get used to a new handler. She’s now been with us for 10 months and fits well with the rest of the family — especially our other two dogs and children.”
Alice is trained to recognize Gabe’s emotions. When he feels an anxiety attack or PTSD episode coming on, Alice can detect the change in the inflection of Gabe’s voice. If he gets upset, she nudges him, placing her snout on his knee to alert him.
“So many veterans, especially men, think that their mental health is not that important or are too proud to have it addressed,” Fleck said. “I was one of those veterans at one point, but [Alice’s] benefit far outweighs her challenges. I would encourage any veteran considering a service dog to talk to their doctor to see if it could benefit them.”
Whalen’s Heroes will host a veterans appreciation event Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the 524 Events Center in Beech Grove from noon to 2 p.m.
