VOLUNTEER WITH FSD

Looking for a fun and fulfilling way to make a difference? We need YOU to join our Freedom Service Dogs team!

We offer a wide variety of volunteer opportunities, so there’s sure to be one that suits your interests, skills, and schedule. Whether you prefer to hang out with puppies or adult dogs, support special events that raise money for our organization, or do vital behind-the-scenes work at our office, we have a great gig for you!

While our most urgent need is for puppy raisers and fosters, we are also seeking volunteers to assist onsite at our training facility in Englewood, Colo. Check out our volunteer opportunities and fill out an application to start the process. 

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Generation 2 Puppies (13)

Kind and caring volunteers share their talent and time to make our mission possible. Thank you, volunteers!

BECOME A PUPPY RAISER We need your help to raise the next generation of Freedom Service Dogs!

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We always need volunteers to help raise the next generation of Freedom Service Dogs! More and more puppies born at FSD enter our training program each year—and every one of these small service dog candidates needs a volunteer puppy raiser to help them reach their full potential. If you can help raise a puppy in your home for 2 to 14 months, we want you!

NOTE: we are currently seeking puppy raisers throughout Colorado and across the country. While we currently have a few established satellite locations, we do require potential puppy raisers to travel at their own expense to and from our facility in Englewood, Colorado to participate in puppy placement class, as well as to drop puppy off at the end of the commitment. Contact us for more information about out-of-state opportunities.

Our puppies range from 2 to 4 months old, with some already housetrained and crate trained, and others needing instruction in those areas. As a puppy raiser, you’ll supply love, basic obedience training, and socialization. FSD will provide special training, both online and in-person, using social distancing and other protocols designed with your safety and well-being in mind. You will also receive continuous guidance and ongoing support from FSD staff and fellow puppy raisers, as well as supplies.


NEW! We are now offering the option to co-raise a puppy so you can share your puppy raising responsibilities with an approved and trained friend, family member, or neighbor who wants to help out.

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Are you considering becoming a volunteer puppy raiser, but thinking you might not be in the right situation to commit?

Too busy? Too expensive? No yard? No dog training experience? Kids or other pets in your home?  No worries!

We’ve collected the most common reasons why people think they can’t volunteer to raise an FSD puppy—and why we say, “Yes, you can!”

PUPPY RAISING FAQS

If you are between the ages of 14–16, you are eligible to participate in puppy raising; however, you must be listed as a secondary handler. A parent/guardian must participate as the primary handler and point of contact.

If you are between the ages of 16–18, you are eligible to be the primary handler, but you must have a parent/guardian sign off on your participation in the puppy raising program. Your parent/guardian must also agree to be a secondary point of contact.

Become a puppy sitter! Look after a puppy in your home for a short period of time

If you're not ready to commit to 2-14 months of puppy raising but are interested in hosting an FSD puppy in your home for short stints, puppy sitting may be for you! We always need volunteers who can look after our young service dog hopefuls when their raisers go out of town or have other prescheduled obligations.

  • Puppy sitters go through FSD orientation and onboarding in exactly the same way as our puppy raisers to ensure consistency in training protocols and behavior expectations.
  • Puppy sitters are responsible for maintaining all training and behavior expectations while the puppy is in their home, even if just for a short period of time.
  • Puppy sitters are welcome to do weekend fostering for our adult dogs in training as well, but not at the same time.

BECOME A FOSTER Give our dogs in training experience in a home environment

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As a weekend foster for FSD, you will bring an adult dog in training into your home for the weekend, typically from Friday evening until Monday morning. This provides our dogs with some much-needed relaxation and time away from our kennels. It also helps our trainers learn what behaviors the dog presents in a home environment so they can work on those behaviors and ultimately determine what type of home the dog will succeed in when matched with an FSD client.

WEEKEND FOSTER FAQS

Weekend fostering is flexible! We require that all fosters commit to a minimum of six weekends a year to remain active. They do not have to be consecutive weekends.

VOLUNTEER ONSITE There are a variety of ways to volunteer at our facility!

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

Work alongside our kennel technicians to care for our hardworking adult dogs in training and keep their kennels in tip-top shape. Read full job description to learn more about this opportunity.

For questions about volunteering with FSD, please contact Hannah Perruccio at 303-922-6231 x201 or [email protected]