4 Paws for Owen

Organization Image

A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

4 Paws for Ability Inc
Fundraiser image

Join us in raising funds for Owen’s mobility assistance service dog!

$19,130

raised by 251 people

$17,000 goal

The Service Dog Process

Update posted 4 years ago

I’ve had a couple of people ask about the two year processing following fundraising our fee for Owen’s service dog. 4 Paws has an intense process that they go through to ensure some amazing service dogs for their families!

We are now less than $1,7000 away from our goal! If you have a chance today please share to help us get there :) 

The process they use for raising and training their dogs is so interesting and I thought I’d share it here with all of you... 

“At 4 Paws, we breed, raise, train and then place the service dogs. The breeds primarily used are labs, goldens or mixes of those breeds. We occasionally place papillons (diabetic alert, hearing ear, etc) and goldendoodles (families with documented allergies to dogs). The dogs have to go through a lot of steps to become service dogs. In fact, only about half of 4 Paws dogs become service dogs while the rest are released from the program for health or behavior reasons. 4 Paws does not assign puppies to certain people at birth. We cannot guarantee that a specific puppy will become a service dog or if they do, whether they will have the skill set necessary to meet your needs. 

The puppies start training soon after they are born when they are just a couple days old. Our puppy enrichment program is a great foundation and a place to work on socialization goals. Next, most of the puppies go into our prison program and work with inmates at area correctional facilities. They work on basic obedience, house manners and potty training. From there the puppies will go into our puppy raiser homes that will build on the prison skills and work on socialization. When the dogs are around a year old they go through an advanced training evaluation that assesses health, scenting ability, behavior and socialization. Depending on how the dogs do on these measures will determine if they are ready for advanced training and what their natural strengths are. Advanced training is where the dogs learn case specific skills for each person. Dogs are worked for certain individuals based on the tasks that they can provide, the personality of the dog and partner, and any preferences...in that order. Through advanced training, the trainers will work a couple dogs for each placement to see which dog is going to be the best overall fit. The dog that best completes advanced training gets the "match" and will go into the placement training class. The family will receive a bio and picture of their service dog about a week before their placement training class. The placement training class is the 12 day training at 4 Paws for Ability where you will learn to handle your service dog and graduate as a team on the final day.”

Thank you all again for your support! And let me know if you have any questions

We’re so grateful that you’ve taken the time to come and read our story. This is a truly exciting opportunity for one especially unique and amazing young boy and the rest of our family! 

In March of 2016 at my 20 week ultrasound we discovered that Owen had significant limb differences effecting all four of his limbs. At the time, the news of his disability was especially distressing because our doctors couldn’t tell us with any certainty whether Owen would make it full term. On July 28th 2016 he came into the world, full term and absolutely perfect. We’ve all gone on to experience the absolute joy that Owen is, his true determination, intelligence, capabilities, kindness and sense of humor. 

Owen has already defied so many uncertainties and navigates the world with such enthusiasm. He attracts friendships and connections wherever he goes and has such an infectious personality. At the age of two Owen became a wheelchair user and that has increased his mobility and access to the world in more ways than we ever could’ve imagined. 

He interacts fully in his classroom, with his peers and siblings. He has an incredible imagination and creativity, always making a way to bring people and ideas together. Mostly by way of playing ninja, wrestling or finding an awesome creation to construct. 

Owen has already made such a contribution to the world around him and we are so thrilled for this opportunity to give him a Mobility Assistance Service Dog through 4 Paws for Ability. Owen not only captures the hearts of humans, but he has an incredibly strong connection with dogs as well. Having a service dog in his life will just continue to elevate his opportunity for independence and connection. As Owen grows we want to continue to encourage him to navigate the world independently and the support of his service dog will help in achieving that. In addition to the incredible companionship a Mobility Assistance Service Dog can help Owen,

  • Retrieve dropped items
  • Bring the phone 
  • Turn lights on and off
  • Carry items in a dog backpack
  • Open doors in the home
  • Hit open door buttons in public
  • Hit elevator buttons
  • Assist with undressing by pulling on clothing 
  • Open drawers and cabinets 
  • Provide emotional and spiritual support
  • Pulling a wheelchair up inclines and ramps, and for short distances 

We are so excited to see how Owen will thrive with a service dog from 4 Paws for Ability and to see how this dog will bless our family! Right now we are at the fundraising portion of the process and once our full amount is raised we can be placed into a class and begin the two year wait for our service dog. 

Thank you for supporting our family in this next awesome adventure!


This fundraiser supports

organization image

4 Paws for Ability Inc

Organized By Casey Somerville

Giving Activity

Instagram

Comments

Log in to leave a comment. Log in