Fidos for Freedom

Service dogs in training along with therapy dogs and their owners gather at the Fidos for Freedom training center in Laurel, M.d. for a training session and meeting.

Donnie Ball (right in red shirt) welcomes guests and volunteers to a Fidos for Freedom training session on Saturday December 10, 2016.

 Kona is a very curious service dog who loves the camera.

Carrie Nicholsen signs to her sign language translator to get instructions on where to go next.

Nicholsen is hard of hearing and her service dog Lilly is learning to hear for her by catching things she may miss such as dropped keys and tapping her when the phone or doorbell ring.

Sandy Ball (left) calls out instructions to the dogs and volunteers during training.

Fidos volunteer Roy Lewis stops for a quick picture with service dog in training Nala. A curious Odin watches in the background.

Jo Nelson (left), Tracy Bowman (center) and Pat Jarvis (right) sit down for a post training discussion about some of the issues the group is facing.

Donnie Ball leads the group discussion with service dog in training Cuddy. 

The dogs watch as their owners and trainers have their meeting...except for Tessa who likes to nap whenever she gets a chance.

Lilly wonders why there's a camera in her face.

Lilly taps Carrie during the discussion when she hears her name.

After a hard day of training,Tracy Bowman and Daytona pose for a picture. 

Shyanne and the other dogs practice staying still if their owners have to step away for a minute.

But Shyanne gets tired of waiting and gets up to look for her human.

Therapy dog vests are usually green and let people know that it is okay to pet the dog even while they are working.

Fidos does a lot of work to help match veterans with therapy and service dogs that can help with a wide range of issues ranging from PTSD to a physical impairment.

Assistance dogs come in all sizes but typically Fidos founder Sandy Ball says little dogs are usually great therapy dogs and some are used for their program to help kids who have trouble reading.

While all of the dogs live with their owners or volunteers, the goal is to match them with a person who needs a service of therapy pet. Little Hartley looks on as her friend gets matched.

Nala takes a break from training to engage in a downward dog pose as volunteer Roy looks on.

Service dog Odin is training to pick up items his owner drops like a cell phone, but sometimes Odin gets distracted when he sees his reflection in the mirror so the trainers hope he doesn't look behind him.

Trainers focus a lot on obedience since that is a big part of being a good service dog. This exercise requires the trainers to stand on the opposite end of the room from their dogs and command them to stay.

Then when they call the dog, they know it is okay to run to their trainer or owner and James sprints to his owner as soon as he gets the signal.

The dog is then rewarded with a treat and placed back on the leash.

 Tessa gives owner Jo a big kiss after getting a treat.

Jo uses a cane to help her walks and Tessa has been trained to pick it up if it falls.

Tessa looks at the treat pouch Jo is wearing and waits expectantly for her next treat. 

James does a trick and hopes for a treat.

Sandy walks Boomer and owner Jenn Sheldon through an exercise. 

Boomer looks up at Jo waiting for his treat after successfully completing his task.

Donnie helps Delaney O'Hagan adjust Shyanne's leash so it is the right length for her to hold with her walker.

Lilly learns to sit and wait patiently for Carrie to turn around. This teaches the dogs to stay where their owners leave them even if they have their backs to them.

Shyanne waits at Delaney's feet to practice laying still when her owner stops walking.

The group practices walking in a circle at various speeds and how to stay next to their owners.

Retired service dog Bella gets comfy on the couch while the other dogs practice. Little does she know that she helped re-create the image on the Fidos logo.

Jo and Tessa head out after a long day of training.