Paw Talk & Hearts of Gold

The same person, two missions.

You already know Makayla as the owner and head trainer at Paw Talk. She is also a cofounder of Hearts of Gold Legacy Canines, a Missouri nonprofit that raises and trains dogs for service and therapy work — alongside cofounder Brittany Panus, a therapist and experienced therapy dog handler who directs the therapy dog program.

It grew out of something she kept noticing: when a well-raised, well-trained dog walks into a room, the room changes. Shoulders drop. Conversations start. That change is not luck — it can be raised, trained and placed on purpose.

The work

Raised in homes, trained for service.

Service dogs

Dogs trained over years for one person whose independence depends on the partnership — turning instinct into skill, and skill into service.

Therapy dogs

Teams that visit schools, hospitals, healthcare facilities, veterans and first responders — a calm, trained presence for the days that need one most.

Volunteer puppy raisers

Raisers give each puppy its first year, the socialisation and patience every working dog's career begins with. They get training, support, and a front-row seat to the journey.

The person who needs the dog never sees a bill.

Raising and training a service dog takes years of work and real money — tens of thousands of dollars over a dog's preparation. Donors, volunteers and community partners carry that cost so the partnership can begin debt-free.

Meet the dogs in training.

Their stories, the programs, and the ways to help — volunteering, raising a puppy, or giving — all live on the nonprofit's own site.

Visit Hearts of Gold Legacy Canines