Laddie

Placement | July 2021

Some are nervous for change, but I'm excited for my future! My trainers had to make the difficult decision that continuing down the service path was not the best option for me. Fortunately, a wonderful person named Brian has adopted me! I am thrilled to spend the rest of my days loving on him as a pet. Thanks to all who helped us get to this point!

Sponsor Announcement

I am thrilled to announce my partnership with Barb Hayden. She has graciously donated toward my journey to hopefully become a service dog! I hope to make her proud throughout my training. Thank you, Barb!

Laddie's Journey

Stage 1 Introduction

Hi! My name is Laddie. 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, Sheila.

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

    

Right at the end of this month, I transitioned from my wonderful breeding foster home to my new puppy foster home! I'll begin to work on crate training, walking on a leash, behaving in public, potty training, and learning my name!

June 2020 - 2 months old

      

I found a new way to stay cool in the summer heat! I've had lots of new adventures lately, including my first time in a restaurant! I behaved so well - I stayed on "place" and eventually decided to just take a nap.

July 2020 - 3 months old

       

What an exciting month! I have had so many new experiences. I've been doing great at church (no surprise there!) and went to my first car wash. I wasn't bothered at all! The most meaningful thing this month was when I had the opportunity to meet my sponsor, Barb Hayden. My fosters Sheila, Shane, and I attended the Grand Opening for the new RFI facility in Missouri, which Barb and her husband Bob are the main sponsors of. I learned that I was named after Barb's first dog.

August 2020 - 4 months old

               

I still have a love for splashing around in my pool! I have been enjoying training sessions at the RFI facility to work with the trainers and show off everything I've been learning. It took me a little bit to understand why the statue dog outside didn't want to play with me! I was able to have a play date with one of my best fur-ends and hung out with a Cub Scout troop!

September 2020 - 5 months old

   

I was able to swim in a bigger pool this month and make new friends! I loved it so much! I chased my ball and had good manners the entire time. I spent time with 3 of my littermates at the monthly foster class. It's fun to catch up with them! My fosters are doing great at increasing distractions and helping me work through them, along with increasing the duration of my basic commands.

October 2020 - 6 months old

  

I've perfected the "under" command at church! My foster Sheila and I attended a "Trunk or Treat" this month for Halloween where I was exposed to various costumes and potential distractions. I did great and was not scared of anything!

November 2020 - 7 months old

  

My foster family and I had such a great Thanksgiving together! They brought home another RFI service dog in training named Buck. We had plenty of play time, and took long naps together. He is a bit older than me, so I learned a lot from him over the holiday weekend!

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

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with my puppy raisers, Shane and Sheila! I can't thank both of them enough for all they've taught me and exposed me to throughout the past 6 months. I've learned so much! As we prepare for me to move into the next phase of training, we're soaking up every last moment together. We made Christmas ornaments to remember me by! Soon I will be traveling to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility to work with Veteran inmate handlers. 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

This month I transitioned out of the correctional facility and into formal training at the Retrieving Freedom facility. I'm so excited to show my trainers all that I've learned over the past 3 months!

April 2021 - 1 year old!

 

I turned one this month and had a visit from my original fosters, Shane and Sheila! It was so good to see them again.