Submitted photo Matthew Dubon carries his military working dog Kali at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

GREENE — While it was his Uncle Rudy who planted the seed, his Uncle Jose and good friend Dina Moore provided the inspiration that would lead Matthew Dubon into a military career that would eventually bring him to the position he now has as the Trumbull County Executive Dog Warden.

“I had jobs, good paying jobs, but they didn’t have the impact I was looking for. I always had this feeling there was something bigger, something more impactful,” Dubon said.

Growing up in New Jersey, Dubon spent time with his mom’s Uncle Rudy, a World War II veteran who frequently shared experiences he had while in the service.

“When I was a little kid, my dad would take us to Uncle Rudy’s house. He never married, never had any children, and we would go visit and work in his garden and he would talk about being in the military. I was 7, 8, 9 years old at the time,” Dubon said. “I was 14 when he died, and the whole process, from when he was in the military hospital to the funeral, with all of the military honors, it struck me and stuck with me.”

Later, Dubon discovered that joining the military could provide an avenue to pursue his desire to become a dog handler, and enlisting in the Air Force was the best route to take. An Air Force recruiter advised him that if he got into security forces, he had a 90% chance of securing his way to becoming a dog handler.

His Uncle Jose and friend Dina helped cement his decision by providing a closer look at military service.

“They just really taught me a lot about it, what it was like and what to expect,” he said. “That, with what I got from Uncle Rudy, it really made an impact with me and was something I wanted to do. They all talked about the camaraderie and lifelong friendships you build. The whole family aspect of it.”

Dubon served as a security forces member, tactical response force member and trained as a sniper in Montana before being retrained to become a dog handler when he was stationed in Dover, Delaware.

Together, he and the canine in his charge provided security for former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and eventually President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. He also handled military working dogs and provided explosive detection services for the President, Vice President, and the Secretaries of State and Defense.

“Those were great experiences. I can’t say one thing really stands out, but the entire experience, I really liked what I was doing. But I was gone a lot. I had a wife and two small kids and I needed to be with them more,” he said.

He applied for and got a post at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.

“My wife is from this area, so it worked out really well for us,” he said.

He was appointed Trumbull County Dog Warden in January and for the past six months has been using what he learned in the military to help him in his current post.

“I love this job, but I don’t think I would be able to do what I do everyday if it weren’t for what I learned and the experiences I gained from being in the military,” he said. “From speaking to people even to the management responsibilities I have. If I had the choice of whether to do it all again, I would.”

Matthew Dubon

AGE: 38

RESIDENCE: Mecca

SERVICE BRANCH: U.S. Air Force

MILITARY HONORS: Air Force Achievement Medal and the “Iron Dog” champion title

OCCUPATION: Trumbull County Executive Dog Warden since January

FAMILY: Married with children