Your support creates happiness. Our service dogs, and even our released dogs change lives. We adopt mixed breed rescue dogs to train as our service dogs. In our 7 year history, we've adopted 28 rescue dogs so far. Those that don't graduate as service dogs are placed as Emotional Support Animals with people who will cherish them. We train our dogs using only positive, humane methods of training. Their care, happiness, and safety are crucial to us! We champion our dogs! We adopt out our release dogs as carefully as we match our service dogs with their recipients.
Eddie is a mixed breed female dog originally from Mississippi. She was shipped up to a local rescue near us, and we adopted her to train as our service dog. We trained Eddie 18 months before she was placed with Sarah. We matched Eddie with 4 potential recipients, and Eddie chose Sarah (we let the dog be the ultimate chooser).
Sarah & Eddie are working to learn how to work better together. When we place a service dog with their matched recipient, we teach and coach the team for about 6 months. Sarah needs to learn to be a great handler for Eddie to perform to her potential. Eddie needs to learn how to better assist Sarah.
We're also coaching Sarah on how to better read Eddie, and how to build a great relationship with Eddie - key to their success. With practice, and training sessions with our Head Trainer, they're learning how to work together well enough to pass the Public Access test. This test, administered by our Head Trainer, is a series of tasks successfully performed at a busy venue (A Home Depot, Target, etc) . Passing the test shows the team is ready for the privilege of Public Access. After they pass their Public Access Test, we give them a Putnam Service Dog Service Dog vest, rather than the In Training vest Eddie has been wearing. They'll be ready to pass the Public Access test before the end of 2023. After passing their test, we'll check in with them every 4-6 weeks to see how they're doing.
Our service dogs are free to their recipients - people with physical disabilites other than blindness and veterans. Our follow up training and support service is also free. You're creating happiness with your support, supporting the training of a mixed breed rescue pup for someone dealing with a challenging life. The first sentence of our Mission Statement is: And they lived happily ever after....
