Smoky Mountain Service Dogs

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Smoky Mountain Service Dogs

Facilitating a better life for veterans through canine companionship and service. ADI accredited
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Our goal is to effectively, compassionately, and respectfully serve severely wounded American military veterans with physical disabilities.

23/07/2024

Have you voted? Jr Ambassador Winston and SMSDiT Wrigley made sure their voices were heard at the polls! Thanks for the warm welcome by the poll workers at Roane State Community College and Loudon County Election Commission.

18/07/2024

Hero Labradors delivery day is always special, but yesterday was more so than usual.

Chuck Z is the founder of Hero Labradors, an Army veteran of 22 years serving multiple deployments, and himself being wounded in the line of duty. After separating from the military Chuck turned to breeding Labradors with the sole purpose being to provide them to service dog organizations.

We were honored to present Chuck with a Quilt of Valor, created by one of our volunteers, Carla C. Threaded with the love and appreciation that we all have for Chuck's military service, and his continued service to his brothers and sisters in arms through his exceptional dogs. More information about the quilt and it's significance can be found at Quilts of Valor Foundation

Welcome Home Chuck and thank you for your service.

18/07/2024

SMSDiT Wrigley went to school today! He visited the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. Not only was Wrigley exposed to lots of new and different exposures and many children. Wrigley took it all in stride and he was an honor student today.

06/07/2024

We were so pleased to host the sailors from the USS Farragut this morning. What a fine group of young men and women helping to keep us all safe. Best of luck in your future careers!

05/07/2024

Great shots from P38 Aerial! What a fun filled family event! Thanks to P38 Aerial and to Fleet Feet Knoxville for another great day.

04/07/2024

Many thanks to Feet Knoxville for another great Farragut Freedom Run 1 Mile/2 Mile Races . We had a wonderful turnout with 28 members of the SMSD Team and the Sailors from the USS Farragut came by to show their support. What a wonderful way to start off Independence Day! Make plans now to come out next year - stick around after the 1- or 2-mile race to watch the Town of Farragut 4th of July Parade.

04/07/2024

Celebrate our Freedoms today (and every day!) Be safe.

29/06/2024

Ambassador Winston has been doing such a good job, they've offered him a position! Thank you, Weigel's Stores and B97.5 Knoxville !

29/06/2024

Come out to Weigels on Hwy 321 in Maryville to enter the raffle for B97.5 Knoxville and meet Ambassador Winston! We're here until 3:00 today.

25/06/2024

Kip says, "It's Great. To be. A Tennessee VOL!!!
Do you agree with SMSDiT Kip?

24/06/2024

A huge thank you to UTCVM-University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine for coming out to our facility this morning to do orthopedic exams on all of our dogs!

We appreciate all that they do to help us ensure we have the happiest and healthiest dogs possible!

22/06/2024

SMSD is honored to be supported by Ed and Janet Lindsey at the 16th annual Gary Lindsey Memorial Bass Tournament in Tellico Lake.

18/06/2024

SMSDiT Kip is selecting his clothing for the Freedom Run (or walk!) Thank you Fleet Feet Knoxville for your support! Register today and join us on July 4. https://runsignup.com/Race/Register/?raceId=33215&rsus=200-500-25bcf2fe-3d10-4560-bc17-c3275cc125d9
Don't miss the Freedom Run - Thursday, July 4, 2024
Be the most patriotic at this year's fireworks when you show up in our Freedom Run tie-dye! Register today to get the shirt everyone talks about and join a few hundred friends on Kingston Pike to show off your blazing speed in our 1 mile or 2 mile race.
This year the race will once again help support the Smoky Mountain Service Dogs, a local non-profit, that provides wounded veterans with a custom trained service mobility dog at no cost. The race is one way to say thank you to SMSD for the vital services they provide in our community.

18/06/2024

Our dogs are rocking and rolling through their milestones!

We have so much to celebrate every day at SMSD but wanted to spotlight our dogs who have recently challenged and passed their performance assessments.

STAR puppies
Oak II
Piper
Wilson
Larry
Bumper
Major
Bailey

Week 4 (First Mobility Skills Assessment)
Wrigley

Level Two (Final Mobility Skills Assessment)
Wylie
Silas
Clayton

Thank you to all of our extraordinary volunteers who guide our dogs on their journeys, our breeders for providing us with fantastic dogs to work with, and our donors for their continued support of our program!

15/06/2024

13/06/2024

We love our Socializers! Ellen had a great outing with SMSDiT Wrigley today and posted all about it:
"Wrigley and I visited the World War II Memorial Wall at Blount County Courthouse today and spent some loose leash walking time at the park. What a beautiful day for an outing with SMSDit, Wrigley, in Maryville. I enjoy my Wednesday Wrigley days!"
Thank you to all our volunteers who contribute their time and effort to SMSD. We could not do it without you!

13/06/2024

Thank you, Kroger shoppers! We received our quarterly payment from the Community Rewards Program.

$ 174.96 Total Donations

It's easy and no cost to you - just link your Kroger Rewards Card to Smoky Mountain Service Dogs and we will get a percentage of your purchases.

11/06/2024

School may be out for some, but SMSDiT Kip visited Maryville College for a little summer school.

10/06/2024

Mike Goss of Smoky Mountain Chapter of United States Bowling Congress presents Carla Navas, Mike Kitchens, and "Bumper" with a check for $13,000 for Patriot Sponsorship of "Bumper" 👍🇺🇸🐕‍🦺

08/06/2024

Learning is always more fun with a friend! SMSDit's Jerry and Honor recently got together with their fosters to go on an outing. Remaining focused while working around other dogs is an important skill for our service dogs!

Jerry was bred by Hero Labradors and is sponsored by Pat Schwartz in memory of her Husband

Honor was bred by Dale Hollow Goldens and is sponsored by Prosperity Partners Wealth Management, LLC

07/06/2024

Your Jr. Canine Ambassador Winston stopped in to Bootlegger Harley-Davidson in Knoxville to send off over 300 motorcycles on their 4th Ride to the Hills. Thanks Tall for the invite!
Thanks also to Knoxville Police Department - TN for the es**rt! And thanks to Debra J Sciarretta, Puppy Raiser Coordinator, for arranging the visit. Contact Deb if you'd like to hear how YOU can help a veteran by raising a puppy!

07/06/2024

Have you heard of our heartwarming children’s book, Cowboy’s Big Dream? 🐶 Written and illustrated by our amazing Puppy Raiser, Haylee Schwerdt, it tells the story of a service dog in training with dreams of helping a hero Veteran. Available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and at our Kennel. It will soon be your kid's favorite bedtime story! 📖🐾✨

07/06/2024

Designated “inspector for the day” SMSDit Wrigley checks out work being done at our training facility yesterday.

Many thanks to Ben and Ryan from Pree's Tree Specialists, Inc., our partner and friend, for their gracious donation of work to drop a dozen trees at the back of our property.

Pree's Trees is emblematic of the support that comes from many in the surrounding business community that help to sustain our mission in supporting deserving veterans.

06/06/2024

Today we pause to reflect on the incredible sacrifice given by the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy. May their sacrifice never be overlooked or forgotten.

05/06/2024

Someone has to clean up all of the dog fur! SMSDit "Clayton" shows off his "take it" skill by helping his foster do some housework.

Clayton was bred by Hero Labradors and sponsored by Clayton Homes of Alcoa

03/06/2024

SMSDit Larry loves the outdoor puppy playground! The puppy playground was built and donated to our program by a local Boy Scout in 2021.

Playing on different types of and textures helps Larry learn how hind end works, as well as building his confidence on a variety of surfaces.

Larry was bred by Hero Labradors

01/06/2024

Thank you to everyone who registered for our annual golf tournament! We are looking forward to hitting the greens with everyone!

27/05/2024

“So long as they speak your name, you shall never die.” - Dan Brown

Today we take time to remember those who came before us and gave it all. Who are you remembering today?

26/05/2024

Can you give us a hand June 22? We need volunteers to help out with the golf challenge - fun guaranteed!! Contact Carla today.

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http://www.smokymountainservicedogs.org/

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Videos

Congratualtions to Courtney and SMSDit Clancy on their recent graduation from Middle Tennessee State University! Courtney is co-raising Clancy with another one of our awesome volunteers. We are so proud of Courtney for her recent academic acheivement alongside her dedication as a puppy raiser for SMSD. Please join us in celebrating them in the comments! #PuppyRaising #ServiceDogsInTraining #DogGraduation #CollegeGraduation #Labrador #Volunteering #Veterans #PuppyDiploma

🥁🥁🥁 welcome to SMSD! Join us in welcoming Bumper, Larry and Major to our training program. We look forward to the future with these dogs!

Hero Lab Delivery Day!

Rain or shine, it’s always a great day when the Hero Labradors bus pulls in the parking lot!

Knock Knock.... Whose there? The SMSDs! Our dogs sure had fun trick or treating last night at the kennel!

Clayton demonstrates the pickwick doors

Did you know that all of our kennel runs are equipped with pickwick doors? These unique doors enable our dogs to go in and out at their leisure and enjoy some time in the sun in their outdoor runs. In this video - SMSDit “Clayton” demonstrates how the dogs learn to operate the doors on their own.

How many times have you put your phone down and then gone to do something else, and forgotten where you put it? With a highly trained mobility assistance dog from SMSD, that is no longer a problem. We train our dogs to find a cellphone either on verbal cue from the handler or by the tone of a ring. This is incredibly handy in the home environment for our wounded veterans. This video shows SMSDit "Blair" performing a phone search on verbal cue.

We are diving into a new week of training! Working in the water not only provides great physical exercise for our dogs, it also helps work on their retrieval skills in a new and exciting way. Everything is training! We rate Gooses cannonball as a 10/10, what do you think?

One of the most powerful things that our dogs provide for our recipients is knowing that they are never alone. With a SMSD by their side - they always have a battle buddy on the journey of life. The "touch" cue will prompt the dog to put their head into the handlers lap. This simple act lets them know that someone is always near - no matter the environment or surroundings. With or without a SMSD, you are never alone. #22aday #neveralone

Memories of SMSD Bearden👍🙏🇺🇸🐕‍🦺🌈

Thanks to trainer Arica at Anytime Fitness - Farragut, TN for putting SMSDiT Winston through his workout this morning.

Introducing Clayton, Colt, Cooper, and Hank

Yesterday we welcomed 4 new recruits from Hero Labradors Send your warm wishes to SMSDiT Clayton, Colt, Cooper, and Hank!

SMSDit Maverick is ready……

Into the Dangerzone he goes……but he’ll hold your hand the whole way. #topgunmaverickmovie #TopGunMaverick #ParamountPictures Top Gun

Please welcome our newest recruit, Triscuit! Triscuit is a darling 4 month old female golden retriever donated by Joe and Tiffany Markulike. Joe and Tiffany have strong military ties on both sides of the family, love dogs, are passionate about service dogs and their ability to change people's lives.they are thrilled to be able to gift Triscuit to SMSD.

🇺🇸

A blustery day at the kennel has our flags looking great. We are honored to fly the colors of this great nation, the Tennessee state flag and the POW flag in remembrance of all soilders who endured the incomprehensible.

SMSDit Bentley gets ready for the day

We hope you are as excited for the week to come as Bentley is!

Happy #tbt Last Thursday we walked in the Knoxville Veteran's Day Parade. We had so much fun and our dogs were spectacular. Thank you to all who served and welcome home!