Mike grew up in the Bay Area where he and his family fostered and raised dogs for the Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. He then served in the marines as a military working dog handler from 2001-2005 and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 with his MWD Rex E168. He is author of the book “Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between A Marine and His Military Working Dog” which is a memoir of his service as a marine K9 handler. From 2008-2010 he was mobilized from the reserves to work with the Wounded Warrior Battalion-West, Naval Medical Center San Diego where he assisted wounded warriors throughout their rehabilitation. He now works as a producer and military consultant for film, television, and digital media. He helped launch the Make the Connection and Veterans Crisis Line campaigns for the Department of Veterans Affairs connecting veterans to mental health services at the VA. He has also worked on a wide range of productions including the military dog documentary Always Faithful and the Netflix Medal of Honor docuseries. For his work in the veteran community he has been awarded veteran of the year for California's 46th district. He lives in Los Angeles with Remy his rescue dog.