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Mission Statement
Empower an individual with a disabilityto train a dog as their service dog
transforming both their livesFaithfully K9 trains individualswith PTSD, mobility and hearing issues

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 Faithfully K9 does not charge Veterans or 1st Responders for training, we rely on donations, grants, and sponsors to offset these costs.

​Please donate today to help us continue our mission 

to give hope where there was no hope

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Dec 3, 2024

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ABOUT US

Faithfully K9 Service Dogs was founded in 2018 to offer service dog training to individuals with a disability to be able to train their dog to become their service dog. With wait lists at service dog training organizations listed at over 2 years, we felt that individuals would begin to see the benefits of having a service dog right away as their dog was already living with them and bonding.

Cathy - Faithfully K9 Executive Director and trainer
Cathy Kowalski

Founder,Executive Director and Trainer

Cathy has been training dogs for many years, and trained service dogs for Freedom Service Dogs of America for 6 years. She has trained dogs of different breeds and temperaments for individuals with disabilities including mobility issues, and PTSD for veterans and civilians

 

Cathy and Sarah created a program at Freedom Service Dogs of America through a grant from the State of Colorado to work with veterans helping them train the dog they received. This program was a 3 month twice a week commitment involving the client learning how to use their dog as they trained the dog to help them continue on their path in life

 

She trained her own dog Cash to be a therapy dog and visited several locations bringing a smile to many faces

 

She is devoted to making training fun using the clicker method and positive reinforcement with treats. Having graduated over 50 service and therapy dogs, she has acquired many skills dealing with dogs and clients and enjoys sharing her talents.

 

She was recently on a segment of the Dog Bowl on Animal Planet showing her training a dog and highlighting a dog she trained, Rommy, the first Decker's Dog

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Chelsea Autrey

Trainer

Dogs have been a part of Chelsea's life since she was born. Even from young age, she loved when Sammy, a toy poodle, would spin for a treat which she called “dancing.”

 

Chelsea’s professional dog training career began in 2013, when she started cleaning kennels at Freedom Service Dogs. Two years later, Chelsea focused as a Service Dog Trainer and Adoption Coordinator, where she played a role in the training of service dogs while finding homes for those who did not succeed in the program.

 

Following that, she worked with local clients who needed help with puppy development, behavior training, pet sitting, and behavior modification.

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Chelsea joined Faithfully K9 Service Dogs in January of 2024.

Sara - Trainer of faithfully k9
Sarah Galassini

Trainer

Sarah first started her love of training dogs through 4-H with her Border Collie, teaching him obedience, tricks and agility. 

 

She graduated from the University of Washington, studying animal behavior and human psychology.  

 

For five years she managed a doggie daycare and transformed it into a "Canine Activity Program", where the dogs rotated through various activities during the day as a more structured and healthier form of daycare.  During this time she also taught obedience and pre-agility classes in the evenings.  

 

For ten years Sarah trained service and therapy dogs at Freedom Service Dogs of America.  She had the role of Dog Training Director and graduated over 50 teams. 

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After teaching in public schools and coaching athletics for many years, Anne switched to work in the dog world in 2004. She worked in the Animal Behavior Department at Dumb Friends League for 4 years, learning positive reinforcement training, helping dog and cats become more adoptable, teaching new adopters how to work with their dogs, passing on her knowledge to volunteers, and counseling people through the behavior helpline to help with common cat and dog problems to help the animals stay in their home and not be relinquished to shelters. Then she ran the two downtown Denver City Bark Dog Daycare and Boarding Facilities for 7 years, bringing her behavior and dog body language expertise to make the boarding and day care experience more enjoyable and less stressful for both dogs, employees, and pet parents. After that she was hired by Freedom Service Dogs where she worked with both Cathy and Sarah before they left to found Faithfully K9. From 2017-2021, she placed over 20 dog teams with veterans living with PTSD, children living with autism, people living with mobility issues, and professional therapy dog teams performing animal assisted therapy in private practice and at schools.

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Anne Burgess
Trainer

OUR TEAM

About Us

Thank you
Petco Love for the
$10,000 grant for 2023!

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Service Dog Training

 

Custom training to train you to train your dog to become your service dog with public access.

Therapy Dog Training

 

Individualized training to train your dog to provide therapy at various locations. 

Therapy dogs work with human/health providers with the intent to use their dog in their practice. They can also visit with their handler to provide comfort, affection, and relief to others at schools, hospitals, hospice, and locations dedicated to older adults.

Project Hope

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Skilled Companion Dogs for First Responders to help mitigate anxiety, depression, and negative thoughts.

Pet Dog Training

 

Personally tailored

dog training in your home.

Our Services

OUR SERVICES

Our Team

60

Years of Combined

Experience

242

Dog/Handler Teams

Worked with

Success Stories

Committed & Knowledgeable

I worked alongside Cathy for five years as a volunteer handler with Freedom Service Dogs. Cathy is an amazing dog trainer, whether it be training a service dog, a therapy dog or a well-behaved pet. I learned so much working with Cathy and would not be a volunteer handler were it not for her. With all I learned from Cathy and with her assistance, my timid dog, Luca, is now a certified therapy dog. Cathy is not only a great dog trainer, she is very, very committed to her clients and to the dogs. She has good dog-training knowledge, skills and techniques as well as energy, enthusiasm and ethics.

Lori and Luca

 

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Contact Us

CONTACT US

Our Mailing Address
This is not a storefront

25587 Conifer RD Unit 105 # 129

Conifer, CO

80433 USA

Our E-mail

720-934-7378

Don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Please reach out for more information at faithfullyk9@yahoo.com

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