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Service dogs for war veterans in line to win $50,000 Rachael Ray prize
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David and Summer (Courtesy of Freedom Service Dogs)
The Mutt Madness Awards are Rachel Ray's contribution to animal welfare causes which will donate $50,000 to the winning organization voted for by her viewers and visitors to her website.
To qualify for the contest,
organizations must be 'no-kill' non-profits, with demonstrated exceptional commitment to pet rescue, rehabilitation and/or adoption."
Ian and Clark (Courtesy of Freedom Service Dogs)
After receiving thousands of nominations of animal rescue groups each contributing to ending animal suffering, the contest is down to the final four contenders. And one of them serves both animals and people providing "amazing dogs for deserving veterans."
Freedom Service Dogs (FSD), founded in 1987, rescues unwanted, abandoned dogs from shelters, provides them with medical treatment, then trains them using positive techniques to become service dogs for disabled military veterans.
Freedom Service Dog (Courtesy of Freedom Service Dogs)
Sharan Wilson, FSD Executive Director says, "All our dogs are rescued dogs, mostly 1 - 2 year old, labs, golden retrievers, or standard poodle mixes. Right now we have 45 veterans on our waiting list waiting for a trained Freedom Service Dog."
As soon as a new dog arrives, he or she is placed into a foster home for two weeks and given veterinary care. As they adjust to home life, Wilson says the dogs begin a three step training process. First, a dog must pass the basic obedience Canine Good Citizen test. Next, the dog graduates to Operation Freedom, learning life skills required to help a wounded war veteran such as going into elevators, entering and exiting buses, and ignoring squirrels.
After a dog is successful with these skills, he attends a "meet and greet" with veterans hoping to find a dog. Wilson says, "The dog picks the client, like as if saying, this is my person."
Corporal Kyle and his family (Courtesy of Freedom Service Dogs)
In all, it takes 1200 hours of training and close to $15,000 to train one dog.
Wilson says, "We sometimes laugh that we have the worst business model, with all the training and medical costs that go into one dog." But the fact is an FSD dog can completely transform the life of a wounded war veteran.
One of the 45 veterans on the FSD waiting list is Corporal Kyle, a husband, father and an Iraq vet in his early 20's.
Wilson says that Corporal Kyle, who lost the use of one leg and has hearing loss, struggles just to walk across a grass lawn. A service dog could help him walk, but also alert him when his baby cries.
War veteran (Courtesy of Freedom Service Dogs)
FSD receives no government funding and is fully supported by donations. This year donations are down by 32%, yet demand has increased four-fold.
Once a dog is placed with a veteran, FSD remains in contact with the client and provides lifetime training and veterinary support for the dog, along with dog food for one year.
FSD has rescued hundreds of dogs and placed 140 of them with war veterans. They have a 100% success rate in placing dogs who do not become service dogs.
Wilson says, "All our dogs were once 'throwaway dogs.' " These once unwanted dogs are changing lives. As Army Specialist Cameron B. says on the FSD website about his FSD dog Harper,
In combat, you can’t go anywhere alone. You don’t go anywhere without your battle buddy. In civilian life, I want my service dog to be my battle buddy. I want the dog to go everywhere I go.”
A lifelong dog and animal advocate, Shelley Frost wrote Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press, 2007) with coauthor Katerina Makris.
Email Shelley: shelley@youradopteddog.com, and visit www.youradopteddog.com
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