Marvel

Placement | July 2020

Some people are scared of change, but I'm excited for my future! Unfortunately my trainers had to make the difficult decision to remove me from the training program due to some health issues. I was adopted by a wonderful new family and am excited to spend the rest of my days loving on them!

Marvel's Journey

Stage 1 Introduction

Hello, I am Marvel.  I am proud to have been selected to enter into the Retrieving Freedom training program.  My parents are "Faith" who was originally from Kerrybrook Labradors and is now fostered by the Sanderman family, and "Olaf" from RidgeView Labradors. During this stage of training I will be spending approximately 8-10 months with my new volunteer foster, Sophie. 

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.

August 2019 - 2 months old

This month I left my breeding foster home and went on to meet my new full-time foster, Sophie! We are going to be the best of friends. Sophie is also fostering another RFI dog named Leonard. He is getting ready to turn in for full-time training, so I am enjoying the rest of our time together. 

September 2019 - 3 months old

I have been attending classes with RFI foster Leonard and our foster mom Sophie on the University of Northern Iowa campus. I am learning a lot from Leonard!

October 2019 - 4 months old

Sophie took me shopping for a Halloween costume. Which one do you think fits my personality best?

December 2019 - 6 months old

I love getting into the Christmas spirit! This holiday season is a good way for me to practice patience. I sit still while my foster Sophie opens gifts and spends time with family. I ignore distractions when holiday gatherings become busy, and I don't go for any food that falls onto the ground. I am growing up so much!

Stage 2 Introduction

Woohoo!! I have officially been entered into stage 2 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.  This training stage will be 8 or so months of working within the RFI Impact Programs.  Currently, these impact programs include working with college students, at-risk teens, summer campers, inmates, and elementary students. 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! 

June 2020 - 1 year old!

Lots going on this month! I celebrated my first birthday by playing in the mud. I went to a fundraiser for RFI at Hurts Donut. Finally, I began formal stage 2 training at RFI, which means I had to say a difficult "see ya later" to my amazing foster, Sophie. I hope to continue to make her proud in this next phase of training, and that I'm able to spend time with her once in a while! I can't say "thank you" enough for all she's provided to me over the last 10 months. She has taught me more than she could ever realize! Thank you, Sophie!