I was a puppy raiser and the dog I was raising recently became a service dog! Tera does great work and always has the dogs and clients best interest at heart! If you wanna be a puppy raiser or need a service dog, I highly recommend Freedom Paws!!
My wife is on her 2nd service dog from this organization. Our experience has been absolutely incredible! The owner cares deeply about the dogs and the people she is pairing them with. She is extremely thorough in her training and does extensive testing on all her dogs to make sure that the dogs she is pairing are in the best health. Our dogs have been absolutely phenomenal and this is the only organization we will ever recommend or use.
I just want to share my story with freedom paws assistance dogs. 11 years ago, my first service dog was trained through them and she was an extraordinary dog. She wanted to work up until the week we had to put her to sleep due to aggressive cancer. She lived a very happy and healthy long life. She was incredibly social and stable in all settings and Tera was with me every step of the way. Once Charlotte passed away, I reached back out to Tera and I am getting placed with another service dog from her program. I have met my soon to be service dog and she is absolutely amazing too! Tera health tests all of her dogs and is so passionate about making sure her dogs are successful and set up for success. I will continue to use her as my service dog program as she has made me feel valued and has supported me the entirety of knowing her.
Freedom Paws (FPAD) is amazing and has been a lifesaver for me. I have PTSD and anxiety, and after a horrible period of suicidal ideation, and the approval and assistance of my therapist, I contacted FPAD for a service dog. My therapist sent in an application, and after a few months on the waitlist, I was placed with my best friend. Words cannot describe how much my life has changed for the better since I got my dog five years ago. He anticipates every tremor in my behavior and emotions—oftentimes before I even notice a shift—and distracts me, offers snuggles, or gets me to play with him. My dog has given me a reason to live and every day he teaches me patience, how to live in the moment, and how to cope with my worst triggers. I absolutely would not be here today without my dog, or FPAD.
If you are interested in a service dog, it's essential to understand that getting one isn't a quick fix. My therapist and I spent a year and a half building a strong bond with my dog and continuing his training. I think a lot of people don’t understand this. Please remember, that your symptoms aren’t miraculously cured when you get a service dog; you still need to put in the effort with your caregiver/provider to work on yourself, and it is on you to maintain your dog's training.
FPAD is an exceptional organization. My dog not only meets my needs but also behaves perfectly at home. Furthermore, FPAD’s Tera made it clear when I signed my contract that I can always return for additional support, even training. I haven’t returned to the facility with my dog, but I have made use of FPAD’s open communication via call and text message many times over the years and received help with everything I’ve asked—even advice on doggy toothpaste brands! While FPAD's customer service could improve, I've found it adequate—particularly since I have my therapist to support me too. FPAD is a small organization that is still growing, so their more introverted communication style may not suit everyone. Still, I'm incredibly grateful for FPAD, Tera, and, of course, my dog. Over the last year, I’ve even begun volunteering with FPAD to give back a small part of the wonderful things they have given me.
I did have one small negative incident when I was harassed over social media by another recipient who wasn't satisfied with their dog. I can't speak to their experience, only to mine. I was posting about my dog with the FPAD hashtag and I think that's how they found me. This incident was not FPAD's fault, but it's another thing to be aware of if you're looking for an SD--you'll be getting a dog from an organization that serves people, often people in crisis or with severe mental illnesses, so be mindful of what you post or read online.
We have a service dog from Freedom Paws Assistance Dog (FPAD) and what follows has been our experience. We were placed with a dog that did not know the tasks well enough and we were told by the owner that it would take time for the dog to bond and we needed to keep up the training.
During team training, we were having trouble with the dog behaving correctly. The owner said she would show us how to get the dog to perform correctly and when the dog didn’t do it for her she gave the dog such a hard correction on a choke chain that the dog’s front feet were lifted off the floor. After she handed the dog back to us, the dog completely shut down and exhibited nervous behavior. Even still, years later with a gentle correction, the dog becomes frantic and shuts down.
When trying to work with the owner on the dog’s issues such as growling and being distracted by people, the responses were either we were doing something wrong or she never had the issue with the dog. She actually questioned if the dog was actually growling or was it something else. It should be noted when we told the owner about the dog’s reactivity, she told us she has never had this problem with a placement.
When obtaining a service dog from an organization, one of the most critical pieces is to have continued support from the organization. We did not feel supported at all and instead were gaslighted by the owner of this organization.
Our experience with FPAD is not unique. We have connected with others and have heard their stories, many of them very similar. Unfortunately, clients that are unsatisfied with their dogs are afraid to come forward and advocate for themselves because they are worried about legal threats and/or having their dogs taken away. While our dog isn’t able to perform all the tasks we needed and paid for, the dog still provides us with a level of comfort that is critical for us. This could be why we were never able to find any reviews good or bad of FPAD anywhere.
We felt it was important for others to hear our experience and when we shared our FPAD experience, we were threatened by the owner with legal action and having our dog taken away. Threatened for sharing our experience. Whether intentionally or not, she is taking advantage of people in need of a well trained SD to help them live a fuller life. Her actions have had a tremendous emotional and financial toll on our family.
Please do your research before going with an SD program. If you can't find any reviews good or bad, look for another organization. If you are not provided with more than one reference about the program, look for another organization. If communication with the program is challenging, look for another program. Find an org that is ADI accredited https://assistancedogsinternational.org/resources/member-search/.
FPAD in Marysville, Ohio, places services dogs with minimal task training and in some cases reactivity. My placement was under weight when I first got her. Concerningly so.
During team training, the trainer and operator of FPAD applied a leash correction so forceful that it lifted my service dog's front feet off the floor. Team training was promoted as 20 hours of instruction, in reality it was perhaps a little more than 4 hours total. My service dog was previously placed with another handler but that placement did not work out, operator of FPAD was not forthcoming with this information. I suspect it was because my service dog displayed resource guarding with her first placement because I had to work to overcome that when she came home with me.
I consider myself luckier than some of the other handlers because our problems aren't as drastic, but for a program dog we do struggle with distractability, a high prey drive which should make a candidate wash from a program, and not being trained on every task that was promised. The operator of FPAD has been difficult to communicate with and is quick to make the handler feel as if we are to blame.
We seek out a program in order to not go it alone, but FPAD makes you go it alone, after we pay them thousands of dollars.
FPAD takes advantage of disabled individuals. Please do not consider using this program.