Customized service dogs for the individualized need
Located in Terrebonne, Oregon
Customized service dogs for the individualized need
Located in Terrebonne, Oregon
Located in Terrebonne, Oregon
Located in Terrebonne, Oregon
Check out the Volunteers page of this site to get involved.
PUPPY RAISERS: Our amazing volunteer puppy raisers can be anywhere in the state of Oregon (out-of-state puppy raisers are also allowed if they have prior service dog puppy raising experience). They take a service dog in training into their home, teach them house manners and basic obedience (with our guidance), and expose the dog to lots of different environments. Puppy raising for us is a 3-8 month commitment and puppy raisers can work with the baby puppies, or adolescent service dogs in training. We supply food, leash, vest, collar and crate. We also cover the cost of veterinary care for the dog.
SERVICE DOG SITTERS: Dog-sit our service dogs in training short term when our puppy raisers and trainers go out of town!
SOCIALIZERS: Volunteers meet up with our trainer to help take a group of service dogs in training out in public for socialization and working on specialized skills in 2-hour shifts.
WHELPER HELPERS: We run a service dog breeding program and need lots of volunteer help when we have litters of puppies! The job of Whelper Helpers is to help with cleaning, socialization, baths, nail trims and feeding. Whelper Helpers sign up for 2-hour shifts.
Bitsy is a service dog in our program that has produced two amazing service dog litters so far. This third litter is expected to be just as wonderful. The sire is a service dog named Zamboni from Freedom Service Dogs in Colorado. This litter will be whelped in Central Oregon. Some of the pups will stay in our program, some will go to other programs, and some will be made available for adoption by owner trainers, therapy dog handlers or pet owners depending on temperament test results of the litter.
Guillermo the Saint BerNewfie joined our program a year ago and has since become a certified First Responder Therapy Dog doing fire and police station visits, peer support, and critical incident debriefs to help reduce the rates of PTSD among the First Responder community. We will miss him here in Oregon, but he is going to continue his therapy dog career in Texas with a family that adores him. We are very proud.
Big thank you to the pilots of Angel Flights West for transporting this gentle giant to his next handler!
Since we are a smaller program, we can only keep 2-3 service dog candidates per litter. We chose to keep Ivan & Indigo in our program, Illini Service Dogs chose to add Morrie to their program, Ivy & Ireland are joining New Life K9s, and Newt has gone to an owner trainer service dog home. Blaze flew to Colorado to learn how to be the best therapy dog with a family that puppy raised his dad, Beck.
We could not be more proud of this litter of puppies. They are all going on to help people in different ways.
Falcon is a Lab/Golden cross that came to us from Guide Dogs of America's breeding program. He has an incredible temperament and loves to work. He has been placed as a multipurpose Psych/Mobility/Medical Alert service dog in Wichita, Kansas in November 2023.
Falcon's person is an incredible Special Ed teacher that helped pay for another one of our service dogs for an applicant in Illinois. She has been on our wait list for 2.5 years and we are so thrilled to place Falcon with her to help her the way she helps so many others in the community.
Everest is a Golden Retriever from our breeding program. He was placed in September, 2023 as a psychiatric, mobility & medical response service dog in Altadena, California. Everest has been task trained to respond to breathing changes, interrupt signs of anxiety, respond to panic attacks with deep pressure therapy, pick up dropped objects, cary items, open doors, push handicap buttons, and pull an alarm to get help in the event that his handler has a seizure or faints.
Everest's person started out as one of our volunteers, but as her health declined she decided she needed a fully trained multipurpose service dog herself. It took a while to find just the right dog, but Everest fits that role perfectly. We are so excited for their journey together.
We met with 14 service dog programs on our 3-week MidWest road trip. The connections we make on these trips are absolutely incredible. We learn so much, and leave feeling excited and inspired to keep doing what we do.
Thank you to the following programs that met with us:
Silver State Service Dogs - Nevada
Puppy Jake Foundation - Iowa
Retrieving Freedom - Iowa
Patriot K9s of Wisconsin - Wisconsin
OccuPaws Guide Dog Association - Wisconsin
Partners with Paws Service Dogs - Wisconsin
Paws with a Cause - Michigan
MidAmerica Service Dogs Foundation - Illinois
Paws Giving Independence - Illinois
Illini Service Dogs - Illinois
Indiana Canine Assistance Network - Indiana
M.D. Dogs - Kentucky
4 Paws For Ability - Ohio
We put our heart and soul into the pups from our breeding program litters, but we are a relatively small program that can only keep 2-3 pups per litter. We are so thrilled that the remaining four pups from Louise x Ringo's litter that tested well as service dog candidates are going to be service dogs in training with amazing programs all over the country.
Meeko joined Partners with Paws Service Dogs in Wisconsin.
Hermie joined Summit Assistance Dogs in Washington.
Zora joined Angel Paws Assistance Dogs in California.
Journey joined K9s 4 Mobility in Wyoming.
Kelly is a positive reinforcement service dog trainer with 19 years of experience. She grew up in Portland, Oregon obsessed with animals from a very young age, and was especially drawn to dogs. Kelly began raising and training service dogs for Autism Service Dogs of America in 2005 and then Healing Hounds Service Dogs in 2016.
In 2015 she received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Southern Oregon University. While living in Ashland for five years, Kelly worked closely with Jackson County Animal Services and their shelter dogs. Her involvement with them included fostering and evaluating shelter dogs, and teaching classes for the shelter volunteers on positive reinforcement training and reducing dog reactivity to make dogs more adoptable. She also spent four years working in mental health at a residential treatment facility for young adults, and managed a mental health crisis facility.
Kelly moved to San Luis Obispo, California and started Central Coast Dog Services in 2018, which later became The Service Dog Connection in 2021. Today, Kelly works to provide custom service dogs to families and is constantly trying to brainstorm new ways to help clients become successful service dog teams.
Elise started out with The Service Dog Connection in 2018 back when we had an owner training-program training hybrid program to get her service dog, Lucy. She has since dedicated her time to learning as much about service dog training, ADA laws, and service dog education.
Elise is our go-to puppy person for young service dogs needing early exposure and foundational puppy training. She regularly helps with group training outings and supporting our puppy raisers with training.
Emergency Vet bills pop up randomly, and this fundraiser allows our program to cover these unexpected costs when they arise.
This funding has helped us cover treatment for things like ingested foreign objects, ringworm, hip and elbow dysplasia, and most recently the treatment of one of our service dogs in training that was in a house fire. Without your support, we couldn't do what we do for our dogs in the most stressful of times.
Elise has been an amazing part of our service dog community. She received a service dog from us over a year ago and has since been dedicated to supporting other service dog teams, and fostering other service dogs in training. They are a model team that has given back to this community immensely. Now it is our time to help give back to her!
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