Volunteer duo digs driving with dogs

Laura and Mike Dennis have always enjoyed making road trips, and since 2022, they have put their love of the highway to good use as FSD transport volunteers. Mike and Laura ferry puppies and dogs on travels within Colorado and to other states with their English bulldog, Diesel, along for the ride.

After starting at FSD as weekend fosters, Laura and Mike answered the call to transport an FSD career-change dog to Kansas in their own vehicle, a trip Mike recalls as “easy peasy.”

Says Mike, “Our second trip was to transport puppies on short notice to Midland, Texas, for training by puppy raisers there and bring back two friendly student pups that were ready to enter advanced training at FSD. We drove one of the Freedom Service Dogs vans, which are a really comfortable ride and are very easy to drive and maneuver. We cannot overstate how easy the staff at Freedom Service Dogs makes these transports. They coordinate everything at both ends, everything we need is ready for pick-up or already in the van we are taking, and the process for turning in expenses and being paid back is very easy and fast.”

In addition to a short trip to Colorado Springs, Laura and Mike took a multiday road trip to Guide Dogs of America in Los Angeles to bring back an FSD mama dog named Quinn, who was pregnant. Says Mike, “Diesel and Quinn enjoyed each other during our hotel stay and the two days in the car, keeping both dogs calm and happy.”

“We enjoy supporting the Freedom Service Dogs mission; it is important to us,” adds Mike. “Volunteering to support that mission, even when it requires taking a few days off work to drive to California, is an easy decision for us.”

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FSD is always in need of transport volunteers for short trips in the Denver metro area and elsewhere in Colorado, as well as out-of-state transports. Volunteers typically use FSD vehicles, and all expenses are paid by FSD, but drivers must be insured. Learn more about this volunteer opportunity.