Michael Chafitz is a special kind of person who has dedicated his life to caring for others. He’s most known for his incredible work in training service dogs to help identify diseases in others and has trained his service dog, Amaya, to lead a new wave of therapeutic and preventive health in early disease detection.
Michael grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and went to Dana Hills High School. From 1992 to 1994 Michael owned a snowboarding shop In Dana Point on the Pacific Coast Highway named Empire Shred Sledz.
Michael then became an instructor for the Atkinson’s School for Holistic Therapy, which laid the foundations for a lifestyle of caring for others in need. He originally attended the school as a student, and after only a month, became an instructor.
As his career evolved, Michael Chafitz began working in real estate as an appraiser for 2 years. He became an independent contractor with a company named American Home Loans and moved to First Source Financial Mortgage until 2007. In the same year, Michael started a stone fabrication business, Stone Temple. From this time until now, Michael also has a handyman service, FAITH, which stands for “For Anything In The House.” Michael has also remodeled homes (specifically countertops and flooring), focusing on homes in senior living communities.
Michael has a service dog, Amaya, who is11 years old. Amaya is a 107-pound blue-nose pitbull who is trained to smell cancer in patients and alert them and can also identify low or high white blood cell counts. Amaya is highly trained and can be off-leash. Cedar Sinai did white blood cell training with Amaya for 9 months. It took about a year to fully train Amaya to be off-leash, and immediately on command.
Amaya has provided encouragement and support to many individuals and is setting a new standard for how canine help can become a part of broader medical practice, aiding in early detection and support both emotionally and therapeutically. Michael Chafitz’s work has garnered the attention of many respected institutions.
Michael wants to expand this training and draw on his rich entrepreneurial experience to expand this opportunity for canine health work.
Michael Chafitz is a strong advocate and volunteer for AA, and he has volunteered time at Laguna Beach Food Pantry. Michael is on the on-call list for Suicide Watch to help those in need and provide guidance, support, and encouragement.
He is the recent founder of Absolutely Vein. This company restores old countertops, makes them look new at a reasonable price, and does backyard poolside marble and travertine work. Michael makes sure his employees are properly trained to do a good job, getting general contractors license in the state of Florida. He is a member of the Marble Institute of America.