Wimberley High School students gain confidence, train service dogs to save lives

WIMBERLEY  — Service animals can make a lasting impact in people’s lives, and Freedom Canines International (FCI) in Wimberley knows that to be true. The 501(c)(3) organization’s mission is simple: Pups Empowering People. The FCI team raises and trains life-saving assistance dogs, partnering them with Texans in need of their specialized skills. Additionally, there is a training process designed to empower Wimberley High School students through their involvement in training future assistance dogs. FCI started when founders Becky and Todd Kier met in 2002 at an Assistance Dogs International Conference (ADI) in San Antonio. Then, an international friendship formed between the two — even though Becky was a Texas girl through-and-through and Todd was from British Columbia. Twelve years later, at another ADI Conference, the friendship deepened and a very long distance romance blossomed. From the beginning, Todd and Becky believed they were brought together for a bigger purpose, leading them to create FCI. Therefore, in 2016, Todd moved to Texas and the duo combined their individual experiences to create the vision that FCI has continued to grow today. “We both had a vision that was just a little bit different programs that we were coming from, which was involving the students, being a part of teaching and bringing that part of things to life,” said Becky. “We wanted to do it together, so that is what led us to start Freedom Canines.” Through its partnership with WHS, each milestone with the puppies is an educational opportunity. Students in agriculture classes, including Small Animal Management, Advanced Animal Science and Veterinary Medical Applications follow and study each process — conception, pregnancy/ gestation, whelping, development and care of newborns —  until puppies enter the classroom at eight weeks old. Student puppy raisers, under the close supervision of FCI Instructors, provide care, training and socialization for approximately one year or until the pup is ready to enter advanced training. During this time, the puppies move into the homes of their student puppy raisers. While the training process happens within the school district, Todd explained that it also happens wherever the students happen to go. “For instance, we had a student puppy raiser [who], a bunch of times, flew with their puppy up to Washington, D.C., Arkansas and other places with the pups in training,” he said. If their parents are going to buy a car over the weekend and they go into Austin or San Marcos, the puppy is coming with them wherever they are going or whatever they are doing through their evenings and weekends, as well,” Becky added. “We had one puppy raiser that was a soccer student and the puppy rode the bus with her and then sat with her parents during the game when she, of course, couldn't watch the dog. That was something that that little puppy did regularly and was very good at riding on buses after that, which helps for public transportation training, which they need to be good at. They really become part of that student’s life.” If a student is unable to raise a puppy full-time, because it is a big commitment, multiple students will team up: “That's what we call co-raising. So, one student might have [the dog] for a week and then another for a week,” Becky explained. In addition to their raiser, puppies provide hands-on learning opportunities for relevant Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for all students in participating classes. This mutually beneficial partnership with Wimberley High School provides unique learning opportunities to students. FCI training methods utilize positive reinforcement-based operant conditioning, so students learn to shape and reinforce good behavior. Students gain confidence in their training skills and start to feel empowered with their work as puppy raisers — then, they have opportunities to mentor other students and do public presentations about FCI. “In our first year, we had several teachers talk to us about a puppy raiser that had been bullied before he got his puppy and some of that somewhat continued and, while he had not really been able to stand up for himself, he was very committed to that puppy. When they started to pick on his dog, he was able to find it within himself to stand up to the people that were trying to poke at his dog, take advantage, not listen and do the things that were [not treating] the dog in a good way,” Becky shared. “Through the process, we really saw him gain confidence and take a lot of pride in what he was doing, knowing that all of the work he was putting in could potentially save somebody’s life in the end.” Todd explained that it is important for the students to find their voice, especially when it comes to educating various business owners or individuals where a service dog in training can go. “If there is an owner of a business or a manager, or it might be a security guard or a police officer saying ‘Hey, you can't have that dog here,’ the student then needs to go about educating, whoever it might be, in that ambassador way, explaining what the purpose of the dog is [and] why the dog is there. Then, [they] also need to understand that they're going to communicate what the actual laws are for having a service dog in training with them because here in Texas, it is legislated through the state that you can have your puppy in training with you for our students,” Todd said. “They are really having to talk to all of their teachers, principals and anybody in that adult role who's challenging that dog being there and they have to kind of find that within themselves to do all that. There's a lot of empowerment that goes on there for the students to grow and I think that's probably one of the biggest things that we hear from other teachers and the parents is how much the student or their child has grown in that year to year and a half.” Students who are interested in participating in the program will need to submit an application, which their parents sign off on, along with receiving a teacher recommendation. “Parents have to be involved in this kind of process and be willing to have that puppy in their home. Then, we get a teacher recommendation. They have to, of course, be passing just like if you wouldn't be able to play a sport if you weren't passing. It's the same thing,” Becky explained. “These dogs can’t be a distraction to school work, so the students have to be in good standing in school. We do an interview in their home and we talk to their parents to just make sure that we are all on the same page.” In order to place dogs with Texan clients free of charge, FCI hosts group classes in Wimberley for pet dogs. The next group class will be Puppy Kindergarten that starts on May 30 from 4-5 p.m. for $140. This is a 4-week  introductory class that will teach puppies age-appropriate manners with impulse control & relationship-building exercises. Along with monetary donations, another way to support the organization’s mission is becoming a foster home volunteer, which means welcoming a FCI dog into a person’s home and life on a temporary basis. This includes taking care of a student’s dog when they go away for summer camp or an activity and they are unable to take the dog with them. To learn more about FCI and to help support its mission through volunteering to foster, making a donation or signing up for a group class, visit www.freedomcanines.com .