by Lauren Cavagnolo | Photographs by Kate Friedl
“It’s like a hobby with unconditional love attached to it.”
That’s how Kate Friedl, founder and executive director of Anthem Service Dogs, describes her work training service dogs.
“Animals have always been my thing, dogs especially,” Friedl added. “The more I have learned over the years, the more I have enjoyed all aspects of dog ownership and learning about dogs and what they can do for us and what we can do for them to enrich their lives.”
Founded in 2018, Anthem Service Dogs has a mission of training and providing service dogs free of charge to those in need. Anthem currently focuses on training mobility and PTSD service dogs but is looking to expand in the future.
PTSD service dogs can act as grounding agents if a person is having a flashback or is triggered. The dog can also signal the person to move out of a situation, get the medication, apply deep pressure therapy, or even wake from a nightmare.
“A lot of times, our coping mechanisms
can be our own worst enemy,” Friedl said. “We tend to ignore all the signs and signals that our body’s stress level is getting too high, and so the dog can interrupt that.”
Most people tend to connect PTSD service dogs with military veterans, but Anthem also assists civilians who have been diagnosed with PTSD.
“We have clients who have had a lot of childhood trauma or have been in domestic trauma. We accept those people as long as they are being seen and treated by a professional in that area,” Friedl added.
Mobility service dogs, on the other hand, are trained to act as an extension of the person’s body. For example, the dog can assist if the person can’t reach something, whether it’s too high, too low, or too far, or needs a door or drawer opened.
Both types of dogs are trained to find help if needed and are given crossover training.
“Sometimes we have people who have been in a traumatic accident that causes PTSD, so there can be people who need both types,” Friedl explained. “When we are training dogs, we train them across the board in all of the same tasks so that we can say they are strong in mobility but they also have that PTSD skill or they are strong in PTSD skills but can also open doors, turn on light switches, and alert somebody, things like that. It can cross over in a helpful way.”
When choosing dogs to enter the program, it’s all about finding a dog with the right balance of characteristics and personality traits.
“We try to get dogs that are somewhere in that in-between range of oddly quiet to oddly energetic, so somewhere in the middle,” Friedl said. “It’s kind of like finding a diamond in the rough every time you pick out a dog that you want to be a service dog because not every dog has what it takes. We have passed on more dogs in this program than we have graduated because about 20 percent of dogs that try to be service dogs either don’t make it and end up getting different jobs or they are placed as pets.”
Dogs Are Provided Free of Charge
Anthem is completely funded by donations, fund-raising, and grants, making it possible for dogs to be provided to those in need of service animals free of charge. “Everything is paid for on our end, our dogs are completely paid for, their veterinary bills are paid for, their food is donated. So no one is out of pocket unless they are buying extra things for the dogs, and our clients are not out of pocket,” Friedl said. “Once they get the dogs, they assume those financial responsibilities. Anyone who is on the waiting list, we say start a service dog fund, save up so that you have cash ready for when you get your dog. You have to keep up with the vet bills and the monthly preventatives, the dog food, and any equipment for that dog.”
It can take as long as two years to properly train a service dog. Because of the time investment, purchasing one outright can cost $15,000 to $20,000. Anthem has about 75 applicants on its waiting list, with those who applied in 2021 expecting a wait of three to five years. For that reason, the waiting list is currently closed.
“At this point, we have so many good relationships with quality breeders, finding the dog isn’t the problem. It’s just getting people who are committed to training,” Friedl lamented.
Volunteer Time Commitment Is a Challenge
The time commitment involved in training a service dog is one of the major hurdles to finding volunteers.
“Typically, we attract the high school to college-aged crowd because they are on that regular everyday schedule. They don’t always have a job that has them tied down after school. They have transportation, they are willing to learn, and they love dogs,” Friedl said.
Volunteers with Anthem go through 12 hours of shadow training and have to complete a knowledge assessment to show that they understand the learning theory, behavior communication, and body language. In addition, they must complete a written assessment covering the handbook, which includes policies and procedures, how to train certain things, what to train and not to train, dos and don’ts, and other aspects of the program.
“There is a lot that we put into it,” Friedl said. “We want to make sure everyone is set up successfully.”
Not every volunteer trains for two years; some train dogs for six months to a year, depending on their schedules. Anthem also has a range of volunteer opportunities other than training, such as puppy sitting, helping with events, demonstrations, and fund-raising.
“It’s a struggle to find people who have time,” Friedl said. “It felt like we had a really good strong momentum until 2020 came along.”
However, a shortage of volunteers is not going to stop Friedl. She and about 10 other volunteers continue to show up and put in the work.
“We are here and doing everything we can to keep the operation going,” Friedl emphasized. “We always need donations; we love doing demos; we love taking our dogs places and showing off all the cool things they can do so people can get an inside look at what service dogs do.”
