Our Story

I started working with my first service dog in 1989. Since then, I have trained dogs, worked in animal rescue and adopted many canine companions over the years. It has been hard work, but I loved every minute of it!

When I became a single mother, I could not afford to purchase a trained Service Dog. They generally cost between $15,000.00-$30,000.00. I felt afraid that I would never have another Service Dog in my life. My older son heard about a homeless Siberian Husky in Georgia. Through Facebook friends and a very long car ride by my son Richard, Athena Rose came to live with us as a pet.

Athena Rose loved to learn new things. And soon I found myself at a loss for how to keep her occupied. She’s very good at inventing her own games, like bringing lots of sticks in through the pet door. Then I had a thought.  I wonder if she would be able to learn to be a diabetic alert dog. I have diabetes, and do not get any symptoms, which makes it very dangerous for me.

I found a book titled "Training your Diabetic Alert Dog" by Rita Martinez & Sue Barns on Amazon.  As Athena Rose and I worked together, we soon learned why they may have given her up. She had her first double seizure shortly after we had begun our training. We brought her to the animal hospital. We learned that Athena Rose has Idiopathic Epilepsy. The canine neurologist assured me that with proper health care, my new dog would be fine and she could continue to work with me.

Athena is now 6 years old. She is a working Service Dog. She loves to go out and about and smell new things and see new places. As we travel together, people keep telling us that they or someone they know needs a Service Dog, but are unable to afford it. Other people say that they have a wonderful dog already that with some training, could be a Service Dog for them. This is how we found our calling.

Bringing access and affordability to people who need Service Dogs soon became a full-time job for us!

The work that we do is very rewarding. It generally costs approximately $4,500.00 for you to train your own, or an adopted dog. There is also a unique bond that is created between the dog and handler, when you assist in the training. I am very blessed with having the most rewarding job imaginable.

We can help you find the right dog for you and work with you on training the dog for your specific needs. We also work with people who already have a dog and want to train it for Service Dog work. There is no doubt that there are people who need Service Dogs. We want to help make them affordable to those who need them.

We offer continued support for all of our clients. We are available by email, phone, text messaging and social media. Feel free to call us at 401-314-3800 if we can be of assistance to you or someone you care about. I always tell people that I rescued Athena Rose and now she rescues me. Have a wonder filled day!

Sher Ann