History
Freedom Service Dogs of America is a nonprofit organization that was founded by Michael and P.J. Roche. This organization has spent the past 30 years recuing dogs, training these dogs, and providing them to people in need. The company’s newly appointed president and CEO is Michele Ostrander, an inspiring woman with over 20 years of experience in leading this type of company. She was welcomed into the company in January 2016 (Freedom).
Mission
As a nonprofit, Freedom Service Dogs has many goals for their fast-growing company. Their mission statement is to, “Enhance the lives of people with disabilities by rescuing dogs and custom training them for individual client needs” (Freedom 1).
Location
Englewood, Colorado is home to Freedom Service Dogs, where they long provided their services until October 8, 2016 when their new facility opened not too far from the original. The old facility began to become overcrowded as the nonprofit grew and expansion was impossible because of the possibility of flooding. The new facility was in the making for over 6 years and has opened for business. It is more than double its old size and allows for both more indoor and outdoor space. While space was the main concern, they facility also was updated with indoor climate control that they did not have before and outdoor turf as opposed to their old gravel. The CEO of Freedom Service Dogs, Michele Ostrander, hopes that the new facility will increase the amount of both dogs and people they are able to help. It is no surprise that the waiting list for
Location
service dogs continues to increase as people become aware of their abilities and see their results, which makes Freedom Service Dogs’ new facility an incredible asset. The waiting time for a service dog can be up to 2 years, which mostly stems from the time needed to train the dogs completely. The new location is allowing many more dogs to be taken in, meaning more dogs will be trained and paired with owners than at their old location. They hope to begin pairing at least 70 client-dog teams a year in the near future (Rubino).
Research
Studies on service dogs have shown significant positive results for both physical and emotional needs. The use of service dogs for many mental issues instead of medications has been growing. While many of these service dogs are also trained to do physical labor, their emotional support is what people are finding surprisingly effective.
Dogs vs medication
According to a study done by Rick Yount of Warrior Canine Connection, another nonprofit that provides service dogs, dogs have a significant effect on veterans with PTSD. A chemical called oxytocin increased in those veterans that received the service dogs. This chemical is often associated with closeness, trust, and antianxiety. Medications have proven to help veterans, they will usually be prescribed an antidepressant if they seek counseling for their symptoms, which make them feel less worried and sad. Another study done in 2007 by Elaine Lust tested how as-needed medications correlated with the presence of service dogs. There was a direct correlation between the presence of service dogs and a decrease in use of pain medication and pulse rate. In any event, desire for natural remedies to illnesses have been increasing due to the many side effects drugs can have on a person. In addition to that benefit, it is also of better financial interest to obtain a service dog in the long run (Bergen).
Lack of Evidence
While extensive research has been conducted on service animals, it is primary in the field of veterans with PTSD. Many personal accounts from those who own therapy dogs are available, but these do not provide scientific evidence needed for therapy dogs to be widely accepted. The biggest contributor to the lack of studies is the small amount of time in which this new form of assistance has existed; therapy dogs have only been studied for about 30 years. This is a very short amount of time for researchers to gather information and statistics to prove the effectiveness of these therapy dogs (Rauch).
Dogs for the Job
Rescue Process
The most unique part about Freedom Service Dogs has been their approach of the types of dogs to train to be service dogs. Most other service dog organizations breed certain types of dogs that they researched and feel they can perform the job at hand the best of any other dog breed. However, Freedom Service Dogs does not raise their dogs in this manner. They recognize the large need for sheltered dogs to be adopted, so they rescue these dogs and bring them into their program to be trained (Freedom).
Graduation
Of the many dogs that Freedom Service Dogs takes in, a small number graduate to become service dogs. They are tested based on criteria laid out by the organization they are accredited by, Assistance Dogs International (Boone). Assistance Dogs International require that all their members are providing the best training and treatment to dogs. The organization is very involved, being sure to check that all members are following their standards for the dogs involved (Assistance).
Released Dogs
In many fortunate cases, dogs can be paired with owners upon graduating as a service dog. However, some dogs do not exhibit the correct temperament, focus, or physical requirements to by certified as a service dog. These dogs have already been generously taken in and trained by Freedom Service Dogs but cannot be given to people in need of a certified service dog, so they are put up for adoption. By having an entire branch dedicated to adoption, they are one of the only training services that also offer nonservice dogs. Of just as much importance, these dogs are often advertised largely so that they can be adopted into great homes while also supporting the nonprofit in the process. They require a minimum donation when adopting their dogs, ranging from $300-$500 depending on how much training a dog has gotten before being released (Freedom).
Programs
Client-Dog Team
The focus of Freedom Service Dogs is to pair dogs that have been extensively trained with a person that has a disability. In many cases, they are provided to veterans with disabilities, but have also gone to people with disabilities not pertaining to war. In many cases the lives of these people depend on their service dogs. For instance, these dogs are trained to help people retrieve objects they are not able to, operating doors and lights, and even pressing lifeline or 911 buttons. Each dog is specialized to fit the person’s needs and are legally allowed to travel wherever their owner travels. There are four main types of service dogs provided to people physical disabilities (Freedom).
Service Dog
A service dog is the most common type of dog given to veterans with disabilities. These dogs are trained to do at least three tasks specific to their owner. The dogs in this program have passed multiple tests both based on behavior and physical ability. Freedom Service Dogs also requires that the owner of this type of service dog be at least 16 years or older, making these the perfect fit for veterans. They are legally allowed anywhere as long as they are with their owner (Freedom).
Service Dog – 3rd Party
The 3rd party service dogs are very similar to the regular service dogs except that they are for those under the age of 16. In addition, these dogs are also given to people who are not able to handle the dog themselves. The 3rd party, a parent or guardian, must be present at all times for this dog to be legally allowed in public places (Freedom).
Skilled Companion Dog
A skilled companion dog is utilized mostly in the house of a person with disabilities and cannot be in public areas where dogs are not permitted. These dogs are trained to do some simple tasks around the household of a disabled person to allow them to live more freely (Freedom).
Skilled Companion Dog – 3rd Party
Much like the service dog 3rd party requirement, a skilled companion dog – 3rd party is for those who are under 16 years old or are not able to handle the dog. These dogs are trained to do the same thing a regular skilled companion dog is trained to do, but must be under the supervision of the 3rd party (Freedom).
Operation Freedom
Freedom Service Dogs developed operation freedom to provide service dogs to those that help war veterans after they have returned home from their services. These dogs can also be given to current members of the military. These dogs are both trained to do many physical activities that assist their owners in their everyday lives (Freedom).
Therapy
For other dogs that did not qualify to become service dogs, they are given the opportunity to become therapy dogs. These dogs assist professionals in aiding patients; they help people remain calm and support them during rehabilitation. Freedom Service Dogs provides therapy dogs to help veterans with mental illnesses, to help children with autism, and to help law offenders. They have partnered with the Prison Trained K-9 Companion Program to help people who have committed crimes cope with their time in prison by providing companionship. Freedom Service Dogs has become very successful in saving both dogs’ lives and peoples’ lives (Freedom).
Connection
The program coined “Pawsitive Connection” by Freedom Service Dogs connects youth in the area that are in jeopardy of worse things. The program has focused on many children who have been in foster care, involved in gangs, addicted to drugs, or have anger management issues. These dogs are very similar to therapy dogs in that they are used to create calmness and security when addressing the issue at hand (Freedom).
Clients
PTSD Victims
Post-traumatic stress disorder is often associated with veterans of war. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD is defined as, “a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault” (U.S. par 1 “What is PTSD?”). As many people are aware, posttraumatic stress disorder occurs most commonly after times of war. The Veterans Affairs Department provides funding for service dogs for those suffering from physical disabilities. However, there has not been enough scientific evidence to prove that dogs can combat PTSD, so they are not able to provide service dogs to people with mental illnesses. This lack of evidence has not stopped the immense interest and use of service dogs by veterans suffering from PTSD (Kime). The Veterans Affairs Department suggests dogs to help veterans return to civilian life even if they cannot financially support this action. By simply providing so much information on these dogs for veterans, their impact and results have been recognized by people all over the United States (U.S.).
At-Risk Youth
Service dogs have a very large effect on children who have had troublesome experiences or are exhibiting behavior that seems harmful to themselves or others. This service is provided through Freedom Service Dogs themselves, it is a program called Pawsitive Connection. The youth most prominently in need of help are those in school that are suffering from bullying and those in juvenile detention systems. There is a large scale of children at risk at such a young age, and they are benefitted by grouping together to express their emotions. The presence of therapy dogs at these affairs help to promote children’s trust and communication (Freedom).
Therapists
Therapy dogs are very widely used by professional therapists across the United States. Therapists who treat people with autism or who are recovering from disease often apply for therapy dogs. Although these dogs are not certified service dogs, they have been well trained and love interacting with people. Professionals that want to adopt these therapy dogs from Freedom Service Dogs must be Colorado residents, but it is also possible for people to apply as students before receiving their degree (Freedom).
Staff
Freedom Service Dogs consists of a staff of 28 people. This includes the administrative staff such as the president, directors, assistants, and managers which totals 11 positions. The other 17 positions are the operations staff that consist of the hands-on experience with the dogs. The higher positions include placement training director, training and health managers, and adoption coordinator, taking up another 5 staffing positions. The remaining 12 staff members are dog trainers or dog care takers (Freedom).
The client relations director, Jane Boone, is a young woman working at Freedom Service Dogs. Her experience with the organization has been rewarding and says she enjoys working for the nonprofit. She primary deals with the relationships between clients and the organization, meaning she has a crucial part of laying the foundation and promoting continued client relations. She is very happy with the new training facility and confident that it will help the organization grow and help more people (Boone).
Future
Freedom Service Dogs is an extraordinary nonprofit with a bright future. Many people are just becoming aware of the many things service dogs and therapy dogs can do for those in need. Not only does this organization help save lives of so many humans, they continuously save lives of dogs across the country. Their ability to recognize the resources that already exist in shelter dogs and their dedication to training these dogs is admirable. As the demand for service dogs increases, the organization shows a promising future for growth and development. Early in their 31st year, Freedom Service Dogs continues to transform the lives thousands through their amazing programs.