Dallas

Placement | January 2021

Some people are afraid of change, but I'm excited for my new adventure! I will be living the rest of my days in a loving home with my new best friend! My trainers had to make the difficult decision to remove me from the training program, but my wonderful handler from a program I participated in has decided to adopt me! Now I'll be able to relax with my fur-ever friend. Thank you to all who helped me get to this point!

Dallas' Journey

Stage 1 Introduction

Hello, my name is Dallas. I am proud to have been selected to enter into the Retrieving Freedom training program. I came to Retrieving Freedom as a donation from Rosewood Kennels in Montevideo, Minnesota. During this stage of training I will be spending approximately 8 months with my new volunteer foster, Molly. 

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. 

February 2020 - 2 months old

     

I got to meet my volunteer foster home, Molly! She is so nice. She tells me I'm the best boy, and also the cutest. I am so excited to see what we can accomplish together over the next 8 months or so!

March 2020 - 3 months old

  

I have been venturing out into public much more with my foster mom, Molly. She takes me to classes with her at the University of Northern Iowa. Walking across campus is exhausting, so I love taking a good snooze when we arrive.

April 2020 - 4 months old

 

I'm ready for Easter! The leash over my nose is called a gentle leader. It is not a muzzle, but rather a way to guide my body in the direction I should be walking. I'm learning lots with Molly and growing like a weed!

June 2020 - 6 months old

    

Look how big and fluffy I am getting! I've been back home with my foster Molly since her college closed, but this month we were able to go to RFI for a check-in with the trainers. They say Molly and I are doing great with my training! 

July 2020 - 7 months old

 

I am growing so tall!

August 2020 - 8 months old

  

As summer winds down, my foster Molly and I have been spending as much time outside as possible. I love going for walks and playing! Our college classes began again this month. Go Panthers!

Stage 2 Introduction

Woohoo! I have officially been entered into stage 2 of training, and I am so excited!  Over the past 10 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 also 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! 

September 2020 - 9 months old

   

This month I had to say a difficult "see ya later" to my amazing foster, Molly. We have learned so much from each other this year and I hope to continue to make her proud as I take this next step in my training!

December 2020 - 1 year old!

I spent the last three months training at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Once I returned to the training facility, my handlers on staff noticed I developed some bad behaviors. They are doing an assessment to see if I should continue through the training program.