Volunteer Services
Retrieving Independence volunteers are crucial to the successful integration of our dogs into the homes and communities of their future partners. By becoming a volunteer, you will have the opportunity to change lives one dog at a time. We have four basic types of volunteers…
Inmate Training Program
Retrieving Independence and the Tennessee Department of Corrections have a partnership in which inmates learn to train service dogs. Our dogs go to the Turney Center Industrial Complex where inmates receive 30 hours of intense training before beginning work with a puppy…
Success Stories
Our dogs serve as diabetic alert dogs, seizure response dogs, mobility dogs and assist with a wide range of developmental, intellectual, psychiatric and neurological disorders. Our service dogs provide confidence, independence and enhance the lives of their partners.
Having a service dog means greater independence in my life and peace of mind for my family that I'm not alone. Most importantly, it means Levi is a friend who is always by my side.
Having a service dog has greatly impacted me socially; when I meet new people my dog Justice creates a connection that we wouldn't have had otherwise. I also love to teach people about what service dogs can do and Justice loves to show off her skills!
I chose Retrieving Independence after visiting other organizations that made me feel like I had to prove my need for a service dog. The RI team cared about my transition from a retiring service dog to a new match and made the process easy.
