"Snow will spend the next six weeks in the Prison Trained K-9 Companion Program where she'll be paired with an inmate handler in a Denver area correctional facility," according to Chris Nelson, president and CEO of Freedom Service Dogs in Englewood, CO. "She'll work on potty and crate training along with basic commands.
"After that, she'll be transferred to a volunteer puppy raiser for her next stages of basic training, which can take as long as 20 months. The goal is to socialize her, build her confidence and fine tune her training. Along the way, she'll go through multiple evaluations to ensure she has the temperament, resiliency, and obedience skills to continue advanced service dog training.
"If all goes as planned, Snow will move on to the final stage where she will spend several months at the Freedom Service Dogs facility in Englewood. Here she will be custom trained to meet the unique needs of a person with a disability, such as a veteran with PTSD, a young person with autism, or an individual with mobility challenges."
Commitment to Others
Dogs who graduate from training with Freedom Service Dogs can learn 65 or more cues to assist their human partners with daily living tasks. Started in 1987, the program will graduate approximately 50 dogs this year.
"My wife Brenda and I have been supporters of Freedom Service Dogs for many years," say Lars Walberg, President of Rocky Mountain Snow Guards. "It's exciting to expand our backing by getting our company involved and sharing information on the program with others. We're even more excited to have met Snow and to be following her progress over the next couple years!
"Our hope is that the exposure we can offer to the roofing and construction community through this sponsorship will bring awareness of Freedom Service Dogs and their mission. The time they're investing in educating these dogs so that people can live more fulfilling and independent lives is simply incredible. When you know the story behind Freedom Service Dogs you're naturally drawn in to help. That's what we're committed to doing at Rocky Mountain Snow Guards, and it's what we hope others will do as well."
Freedom Service Dogs
At Freedom Service Dogs, we believe dogs can make a profound difference in the everyday lives of people challenged by disabilities. We breed and custom-train service dogs, professional therapy dogs and skilled companions --- each one placed with the individual or situation for which it is best suited. We serve individuals with limited mobility, young people with autism, veterans or first responders with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries and others providing mental health and crisis support. Freedom Service Dogs is an Assistance Dogs International-accredited organization. We adhere to the highest standards of training, client service, dog health, safety and wellbeing. Visit us at www.FreedomServiceDogs.org.