June

June's Journey

Stage 1 Introduction

Hi! My name is June. I am proud to have been selected to enter into the Retrieving Freedom training program.  My parents are "Spirit" who is fostered by the Nash family and "Echo" from PAWS With A Cause. During this stage of training I will be spending approximately 8 months with my new volunteer foster, Randy.

Throughout Stage 1, I will learn the basics obedience, public behavior, and a lot of socialization. I understand that it takes a very special dog to complete the program as there is a high standard to become a Service Dog. I am aware that I may be one of the dogs whose purpose is outside of service work so I will be updating my profile on a monthly basis for all that would like to follow my journey through the program. 

May 2020 - 7 weeks old

 

This month I transitioned from my wonderful breeding foster home to my new puppy foster home with Randy! Together, over the next month, we will tackle potty training, name recognition, walking on a leash, and crate training.

September 2020 - 5 months old

 

Randy and I have been training diligently together over the past few months. I attend the monthly foster trainings at the Retrieving Freedom facility and continue to impress the professionals with my progress!

Stage 2 Introduction

Wahoo!!!  I have officially been entered into stage 2 training, and I am so excited!  Over the past 8 months I have had the opportunity to see the RFI mission first hand, and can’t wait to dig deeper in the mission of changing lives through my training for veterans with disabilities and children with autism. During this Stage, I will work closely with the RFI professional training staff to solidify my understanding of intermediate tasks and the foundation of future commands to help mitigate a disability.  Follow me through this stage learning how I continue to make an impact! 

December 2020 - 8 months old

This month I transitioned from my foster home to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. I will miss my foster Randy so much and can't thank him enough for all he's taught me over the past 6 months! It's time to work with a new handler, a Veteran inmate, on tasks and to see how much we can grow and learn together for a few months. I won't be able to give updates while I'm there, but I'll look forward to updating you when I return to the training facility!

March 2021 - 11 months old

I traveled back to the Retrieving Freedom training facility this month from CMCF. I learned so much and can't wait to show off my new skills to the training staff!

April 2021 - 1 year old!

I have been working consistently with my trainer during the week days. She has begun introducing me to new tasks and seeing what I'm capable of. On the weekends, I travel into weekend foster homes. This is a great way to relax and take my mind off training for a few days.

May 2021 - 13 months old

I love play sessions between task training work! I have been participating in an impact program at Citizens Against Spousal Abuse (CASA). This is where a representative from CASA picks me up from Retrieving Freedom and takes me to train at their office all day. Not only am I experiencing new scenarios that are beneficial for my training, but I'm also providing a bit of emotional support for the members at CASA.

June 2021 - 14 months old

 

I continue to spend time with my handler Joylynn at CASA and providing comfort for all involved in the program.

July 2021 - 15 months old

I am getting used to standing on this new doggy treadmill so that eventually I can learn to run and exercise on it! This will be a great way to expel extra energy before and after busy training sessions.

August 2021 - 16 months old

 

I went on a public outing with my trainer to the local coffee shop. I did great!