- Will you consider this?

You've seen service animals with any number of folks, but there's a special breed for our veterans and first responders all trained right here in Central Illinois.

The story of how Freedom Paws came to be in Chillicothe.

(light music) Post-traumatic stress disorder.

PTSD isn't always consistent.

It can strike at any time, and send those who suffer from it into a downward spiral.

Enter Freedom Paws to the rescue.

Brenda Olson joins me to give us the story and its successes.

Welcome.

Thanks for being here.

- Thank you for having us.

- And I need to introduce Charlie also.

- Yes.

Charlie is a nine-month-old Lab.

- [Christine] Labrador.

Yep.

Charlie's beautiful.

All right, so let's start with how did Freedom Paws come into existence?

- Sure, so Corey, our CEO of Freedom Paws was in need of a service dog.

As we know, service dogs are quite expensive and a waiting list at that.

He had some dog training and considered, you know, training a dog for himself as a service dog.

So that's how it got started.

And the more he went out into the community and people saw him, a lot of veterans came up to him and said, "Hey, how'd you get that service dog?"

And that's kind of how the program started.

- Wow.

And that was only in 2018?

- Only in 2018.

Yes, yes.

He's had many reach out to him, and like I said, he'd be working his dog for himself, and he really was just doing it for that.

And then the more he thought about it, he was like, "Wow, how can we help other veterans in the community that are in need of this?"

And so he decided to start the foundation.

Yeah, he has had many, many successful dogs through the program since then, and has helped many in the program with PTSD.

- How many dogs have been trained so far in place?

- So we have had 38 in the program.

We currently have nine in training.

Charlie is one of those sweet ones.

And we have two that are available to our veterans.

We for the first time ever have a waiting list, because we have such a response for a need.

- And the veterans can be anywhere, not just in Illinois?

Or do you concentrate mostly on Illinois veterans?

- Correct.

Most of them are in Illinois.

However, we do have, we've had many out-of-state ones as well.

We've had Iowa, Virginia, Pennsylvania.

So we've had people reach out to us, and they have to come in and do their training with their dog.

- So how do you determine who will get a dog, and then if they can pair just right?

- Sure, sure.

So with our program, we start with our application process.

And once we get through that, we do a background check just to make sure the dog's going to a safe home.

And if everything checks out there, then we bring them into the program.

And usually we have dogs available, and then we start pairing them up.

But like I said, for the first time, we do have a waiting list.

So the program's changing a little bit in that direction because of that.

- She wants to stay on that side 'cause she knows your treats are that bag, right?

- Yes, she does.

- You might move it.

No, just teasing.

- Come here, Charlie.

You're a good girl.

- Yes.

Such a good girl.

Yeah, I know you're not supposed to pay attention to me.

- Okay.

Can you sit?

- All right.

So how did you get involved in the program?

- Sure, so my husband works with the Chillicothe Park District, and Freedom Paws was looking for a bigger place to grow because Corey was doing this out of his home.

And I love that he started it out of his home.

But obviously, you know, that you have to change with more dogs that you're getting into the program.

So he reached out to Kevin Yates with the Park District, and they happened to just purchase a facility that had much space to it, and it was able to be a nice bond for the two partnerships.

So he is able to have a lease there with them at that building.

- And that's where most of the training takes place?

- Yes, yes.

So then my husband came home and told me about it, and he says, "You have to check into this program.

It's amazing."

And I hopped right on board and became a puppy raiser.

So I started as a puppy raiser.

- Oh, a puppy raiser.

- Yes.

- All right, what kind of training did you have to have in order to be a puppy raiser?

- Sure, so just the knowledge of dogs is helpful, obviously, because we do everything from potty training them to obviously basic obedience.

But you do get training from the class each week, and they walk you through what is expected.

And then you go home and work on it for the week.

And then you come back to class the next week, and we just continue to grow and roll with that.

- See if they pass the test.

- Yes, yes.

And then at some point they do take four tests to become a fully trained service dog.

- So she lives with you?

- [Brenda] She does, yes.

And you have other pets as well.

- Yes, yes.

- And she gets along fine with them.

- She does.

Yes, yes.

So she does live with us full-time.

And then when her time comes to go with her hero, she will start working with her hero.

And the hero will finish her testing that's needed to make sure that they're paired well and they're able to go out in public good together and do the things that they need to do.

So yeah.

- So how old will she be when that happens?

Is that a year, or is it a specific time for each dog?

- It varies on each dog and each individual.

So the way our program works, some of our veterans are absolutely on board from training their dog right from the stage of 12 weeks old and training it through the whole program.

We have others that would like a little more of a trained dog, or get you through the potty stage.

And you know, so maybe at eight months they might go: 8 to 9 months.

And then some just wanna come in towards the tail end and do their part and have more of a trained dog.

So the four that we have puppy-raised have left us with around the year range.

So, yeah.

- How do you part with them?

Don't you get attached to them?

- You do.

You do.

But the program's growing so much there's always another dog available and ready to go.

So within usually a month of us losing a dog, we've had another one at our doorstep ready to go.

So that's what keeps the program going.

- And so where do the dogs come from?

And does Charlie have any brothers or sisters in the program?

- So Charlie does have a brother in the program, in her same class.

Sit, thank you.

Sit, good.

And so that's kind of fun 'cause it's nice to see 'em.

We have many litter mates in our classes.

Most of our dogs come from donors that are breeders.

And they reach out to us and tell us that they're having a litter of dogs.

And if we're at a time that we can take them, we get many donated to us.

We have paid for a few dogs as well.

So it just varies.

But we've been very blessed to have many donated to the program.

- I bet.

I bet.

And you said you've placed 38 of them in the 4 1/2, five years you have founded?

- Yes.

Yeah.

So it's been really amazing.

We're always looking for puppy raisers.

We have events.

Obviously, we're a nonprofit, so we're always out and about in the community doing different things.

- [Christine] Like what?

Give me an example.

- So we have a Easter Egg Hunt coming up on April 2nd at Chillicothe Shore Acres Park and Clubhouse.

And we're gonna have a pancake and sausage breakfast.

and we plan to have an Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos.

Only our service dogs are allowed to that event.

But yeah, so just a great day for the family.

- Okay, And then there are other fundraisers throughout the year as well?

- Yes, there are.

we have a Krispy Kreme donut drive, and we do an event with Poorer, Poorer Pros in the Heights every year.

And so yeah, we really look forward to gearing up for that.

- And then, so how do people get in touch with you if they wanna be puppy trainers?

- Sure, so they can go to our website at freedompawsservicedogs.org.

Or they can also reach out via email or text.

Email would be freedompawsservicedogs@gmail.co.

Or my phone number, which I'm happy to give out, is 309-208-3639.

- Okay.

How about that, (muffled speaking).

But you know what?

I mean, if you need people to help you, that's the best way to do it.

- Absolutely.

So the program has great meaning.

And when I became a puppy raiser, I became more than just a puppy raiser.

You become part of a family and a support system.

The first dog, William, that I puppy-raised, I became great friends with his hero who was a Navy veteran.

She really opened up to me about her story and her issues.

And we were able to make William help her through those.

- Yeah, so if if they're having some kind of a spiral attack or whatever their trigger is, the dog is specifically trained for that person?

- Yes, yes.

So we do try to have the dog do specific things for the person.

Charlie's person is going to be in need of medicine bottles being picked up for her when she's in need of it.

So we are working to have her learn that task so that she's able to do it when needed.

And we have dogs pick up keys.

Sometimes our dogs have had mobility harnesses on 'em for mobility purposes.

So yeah, we kind of cater to the veteran, depending on the needs.

- And veteran first responders as well.

- Yes.

Absolutely.

We've had several first responders in our program as well.

And it's always nice to give back to those who give to the community.

- Well, service dogs really are, I mean, dogs are just so smart anyway, and the fact that they can be specifically trained.

So what would happen in the event that their person, if something happened to them, and where else would they be placed?

I hate to think about that, but there is that possibility.

- Sure, sure.

So obviously, not all the dogs do make it through the program.

So in that case, we would reach back out to our breeder who donated the dog to make sure, first of all, they were okay with us giving it, we would offer maybe the puppy raiser that put the work into the dog.

But a lot of times we give back to a veteran in the community that wants a dog, but not necessarily needing a service dog.

So it works out well.

- So a companion.

It would be more of a companion.

- Yes, absolutely.

So in Charlie's case, if she was fully trained and passed her testing, hopefully her hero and her would work out well.

But if not for some reason, she would just come back into the program to see if she would pair with somebody else.

- All right, now, so her hero comes down, or is able to come and visit with her, right?

- Yep, she's able to come to training.

When she's able to do so, she'll just come and train the dog.

Otherwise, we do have her on a virtual training session so she's not losing out on what we're doing in class and she's able to still keep up with the task at hand.

But yeah, we try to make as many visits as we can so that she can be with her.

- Charlie, do you wanna answer me?

Can you come over here?

I don't have any treats.

She's going, "Yeah, well."

And it's raining today when we're taping this, and Charlie has her little boots on too.

So she's dressed for the occasion.

- She does.

- So would she get in trouble if I called her and she was supposed to be on duty?

- She wouldn't get in trouble.

But we do try when we're working our dogs to have them listen to their person, because that's what their goal is.

So we do teach them to try to listen to only the person that's training them, so that that way they are strictly with them when in need.

- But how do they make that switch?

I mean, she's used to your voice.

- [Brenda] Sure, sure.

- [Christine] But what about her person, her hero?

Well, it's amazing, you know, again, the bonding time that they have and the time that they get to have together, it is amazing how these dogs know that when this vest is on, whoever is working 'em at that time, that's who they should be listening to.

When the vest comes off, they act like a dog.

They, you know, are a puppy at heart, and they go a little crazy sometimes, you know.

But they're just truly a puppy.

They're dogs when they're not working.

But when they're working they are just focused, and that is what their job is to do.

- How Long did it take you to learn all these ins and outs of training?

- Sure.

So not very long.

You know, you pick it up fairly quickly.

And over time, after doing four dogs, you tend to really get to know what's needed the most.

A lot of basic obedience obviously is needed.

But there's other things involved too with PTSD, such as alerting on trigger moments.

Come out, Charlie.

So you have to know who their hero will be in order to train for that specific- - Sure, so once they, if they don't have a hero, then what we do is we just train them the basic obedience, but we also train 'em on picking up items and a lot of other things that would be valuable to somebody.

And then if there is something training-specific, such as alerting to a stressful situation, and they're needing to touch that person in a way that, you know, like if they're shaking their knee or something of that nature, that they would be able to do that over time.

- So they would put their paw in it or their head or something?

- Yep.

So she would get very nervous around me.

She might even put her paws up on me.

She might walk around and keep nudging me to let me know that: "Hey, you're not acting right.

Something going on."

So many times when we're in an event or a situation and some of our service dogs are there with our veterans, the dogs are actually trying to tell them, they're picking up on their sense that they're stressed or need to get out of the situation they're in.

And sometimes the dog will actually act out and pull and try to get them out of the room or outside for a moment.

And at first, many of our veterans or first responders think their dog is just acting out.

And that is not the case.

They're trying to tell you: "You know what?

You need to step out, just take a breath and breathe."

And get yourself, you know, out of that situation.

- So you don't teach 'em how to speak.

Their actions are- - Their actions.

Yes, absolutely.

- Well, actions speak louder than words.

- Absolutely.

- Well, so her person will be joined with her, she's nine months old now?

- Yes, she is.

- So possibly in just a couple of months.

- Yeah, so possibly, we're kind of thinking maybe summertime for her.

So yeah.

Yeah.

So I'm excited to see.

And like I said, the first one that paired actually became a friend at first, but then truly became my sister at heart.

And I love that about this program, because I've seen growth in her as well.

And the other dogs that we have paired with as well.

There's been nice growth to see as they're in training.

and I think she's tired.

- Are you tired, Charlie?

- She's getting tired.

But yeah, it's nice to see the confidence in our heroes, that they're able to go out and be able to go to a public situation where maybe in the past they weren't able to do so.

- So that's generally when their attacks occur, is in public places?

- Yes, so often they want to just kind of stay home, and they don't want to go out in situations.

Different things can trigger them, whether it was from war or different, you know, things that have happened to them.

And so therefore this program tries to allow them to have this little girl or boy, depending on which dog you have, with them so that they're able to go out with confidence and feel like they can be part of the community again.

- Well, so the founder, Casey.

Or Corey rather, Corey.

He and his wife kind of work together.

Can you speak for him on the pride that he has building this program, just instituting it?

- Yeah.

Absolutely.

He never thought it would be to this point.

He was surprised how quickly it grew and how many people needed a service dog.

And it has just grown by leaps and bounds.

And yes, it's really, I think, taken back from him a little bit, like how quickly it's grown.

And so therefore he always stresses, you know, it takes a team to do this: it's not just him.

And he realizes that, and he knows that it's a lot of good volunteers and people helping him get to this level that he's at.

And he's just wanting to continue to do it so he can do far more.

- And he suffers PTSD?

- [Brenda] He does.

- And he served in Afghanistan?

- Yes, I believe, yes, I believe he was in Afghanistan.

And yes, he was in Air Force.

Yep.

So.

- Many things could be the cause.

- Yes.

- So I don't know if you know this, but how many people are there in let's say the United States who might need the assistance of a service dog?

- Sure, I mean, I feel many.

You know, they go to war, they come back, and then something's not right.

They don't realize it's always PTSD.

- They look okay.

- They Look okay.

And you would never realize that it's, you know, something more going on there.

And then they start maybe spiraling and having some different things that they try to do in life.

And then they realize it's PTSD that's kicking in, and that that is what's causing the issues.

- And he got an actual diagnosis, Corey did.

- Yes.

Yes.

So all of our- - What do we think we see?

- I think she sees your shadow maybe.

- Is that, oh.

- So all of the ones that come into the program do have to have a medical signed off from a medical doctor that they have PTSD, yes.

- But many, many, many throughout... How many just in our area do you think?

- Oh, I can't even imagine.

So we, again, you know, we hear the 22 a day.

And I truly believe that's true, you know.

And that's 22 too many.

So we are here to help and help get through that.

Now, a service dog isn't going to correct everything, and not going to fix all the problems.

But it certainly can help them get to where they need to be.

- Well, yeah, some service dogs are aware of a diabetic situation, or another kind of a panic attack.

So that's what you're really training 'em for.

- Yes, correct.

Correct.

- And they're so smart.

So do you see my shadow?

What are you looking at over there, girl?

- I do believe it's your shadow.

Yes.

- I don't think there's any critters in here.

So you're very pleased with the decision that you made?

Your husband's okay with it?

How about your family?

- Yes.

Actually, my husband is on board.

He's a big part of the foundation as well.

We do it together.

So that makes it even that much nicer for us.

He is a trainer in the program.

And so yeah, it's great.

Our grandkids love it.

They come over, and I told 'em.

I said, "Every time you're over here, you're helping Charlie as well."

'Cause you know, when they're puppies, they have to get used to all situations, including kids.

- All different sizes.

- Yes, absolutely.

So it's great.

And yes, everybody's thrilled to be part of it.

- How much bigger will she get?

- She won't get too much.

She might grow a little bit taller.

And she's gonna get a little broader, but probably not too much more.

- All right, so you think just a couple of more months of training and then she'll be placed?

- Yes, and then she will have to finish her training still though, because she has, well, her first test is coming up in two weeks, and I have full confidence she's gonna do great.

And then she'll have three more tests.

So they have four tests that they have to pass for the AKC.

And they are mostly basic obedience testing.

So her first one will be a CGC test, which is being able to walk in public politely and some things of that nature.

And as they go further into the program, it changes to some more difficult things.

(both laughing) - I don't know.

There's something over there.

- There is something over there.

There is.

- So you're entertaining, Charlie.

- I promise you, yeah.

- So that's the first test.

And that's, well, basic skills.

So sit, stay, and that kind of thing.

- Yes.

Yep.

They have to be able to perform in public and be well behaved.

Oh, she is gonna maybe lay down.

and so they need to learn that.

And also to not be just, you know, darting at the shelves when you're in a grocery store and things of that nature, but then to help you out when needed as well.

So yeah.

Yeah.

We've had some dogs pick up things off lower shelves for people when told.

And you know, 'cause not all, sometimes, you know, they have trouble bending down and being able to do that.

So yeah.

Yeah.

- So how do they direct them?

"Get that box of Cheerios."

- We use command words and we practice it over and over and over, just like going to school.

Service dogs are not much different than toddlers really.

They just don't talk back to us.

But yeah, they basically have to go to their schooling and learn all those things, just like our toddlers have to go to school to learn to read.

And it takes many, many hours.

So her training, by the time she's all done and certified will be over 300 hours.

- Whoa.

- The standard is 240, but Corey wanted to make it 300 hours, because he wanted to have good dogs out in the public doing what they needed to do.

So we tacked on another 60 hours.

So yeah.

- So the pairing, has there been a problem with the pairing?

- Not too often.

Occasionally we've had a few dogs come back into the program and had to go with someone else and get paired again.

It happens occasionally.

I mean, sometimes they have that sleepover moment, and things don't always work out the way that it was expected to.

- Right.

Now interestingly, you have placed, well, you're placing her with a female.

And you placed Willie?

- [Brenda] Yep.

William.

- William with a female.

- A female, yes.

- Do you always do that?

Is that because you're a female trainer?

- Nope.

It just happened to work out that way.

And we had a service dog, Russell, who was a standard poodle in the program.

And he went with a gentleman out of Pekin.

And they paired very nicely.

So yeah.

So it just kind of depends on what applications are coming into the program at the time and how it works out.

It just happened to be fortunate that I had two that were females as well.

So yeah.

- All right.

Well, Charlie, you're a good girl.

You're such a good girl.

Yeah, you have your vest on and you're behaving: very good.

Yeah, I'd give you a treat, but Brenda won't let me give it to you right now.

Well, thank you so much for sharing this story of Freedom Paws.

Again, give us the website to go to for volunteers and any help that you might need, interest.

- Yeah, so again, we're looking always for volunteers for events, merchandise sales, and things of that nature.

And we are in the prime season for that.

And the website is freedompawsservicedogs.org.

or you can email - Okay.

And you're trying to speak.

- You are.

You are.

- Well, thanks again, Brenda- - Oh, thank you.

Thank you for having us.

- I hope that you have been enlightened and learned something.

And thank you for joining us.

Stay safe and healthy, and hold happiness.

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