People

For Scott Dewey, a seasoned trainer convinced service dogs could make a difference for veterans searching for more independent lives, the numbers at left added up to one big idea.

It was 2010. Dewey and his professional colleague Charles Dwyer were discussing how well-trained dogs could help veterans, particularily those with brain trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “you walk in public as a veteran with PTSD and nobody sees it,” says Dewey. “The rest of us have trouble even comprehending what it’s like integrating back into society.

“I’d been a for-profit trainer for 13 years, but this idea wasn’t for profit,” recalls Dewey. They wanted dogs to be accessible free of charge, so the newly formed Retrieving Freedom program would be a nonprofit organization.

“Training dogs was the easy part,” he says. “The hard part was learning how to be a foundation.”

Donations of time became as important as dollars. “we started out with just a couple of dogs, but demand grew fast,” he says. “And we’re as committed to growing the quality of training as much as the number of dogs. Both take time. If you’re going to increase the number of placements, you have to start with more pups.”

For dogs, training starts at 8 weeks of age and is completed at 24 months of age. For the first 10 months, puppies are cared for by volunteer foster families for general socialization and obedience training. From 10 to 18 months, the dogs return to the program to begin learning service tasks. By 18 months, most dogs are ready to be matched with individuals for concentrated one-on-one training. But there is no one-dog-fits-all schedule.

Retrieving Freedom operates out of Waverly, Iowa, under Dewey’s lead and Senatobia, Miss., under Dwyer’s supervision. Their dogs are trained for three populations: veterans, children with autism and individuals with diabetes. Benefits for veterans are making the biggest impact.

“We don’t charge for the dog, but each recipient needs to fundraise $5,800,” says Dewey. “That gets them participating right away; it gets them involved in life again.”

Chad Johnson, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, is so grateful for his black Lab Bender that he volunteers as a part-time trainer for Retrieving Freedom. He says he found a new purpose in helping others. “It’s hard to admit, but I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Retrieving Freedom,” he says. “I would have committed suicide. But Bender reminds me I’m here and not over there. He doesn’t judge me.”

Dewey says, “we give veterans a new tool to start living; they convince themselves it’s worth it. with those results, we can’t stop.”