Lab Puppies

February 19, 2018, Service Dogs Alabama welcomed a litter of nine beautiful Labrador Retriever puppies! The litter consisted of five yellow puppies and three black puppies. Maggie, the proud mother, is one of our yellow labs. She is currently expanding her Service Dog training at the prison.

Maggie and her 9 puppies

The sire of the puppies is a Black Labrador Retriever named Roman. He has champion show bloodlines and is currently being shown in American Kennel Club Dog Shows. We are looking forward to watching these puppies grow and mature into life saving Service Dogs!

Roman- sire of the lab puppies

Roman practicing for a show!

The puppies are now four months old and looking great! Four of the puppies are currently at the prison for pre-training and the other four are with our puppy raisers with the exception of one that is living with the father Roman.

We are always looking for puppy raisers and volunteers willing to help socialize our dogs. If you would like to help, for more information please visit our website www.servicedogsalabama.org or call the office at (334) 676-3733 

Staff

Service Dogs Alabama could not do what is does without our excellent staff! Service Dogs Alabama's board consists of 14 members and the Executive Director. We have a full time head trainer and a few part time trainers that train our dogs and make sure they are placed with the perfect person. At the office, we have our book keeper/office manager and a full time kennel manager. They work hard to make sure everything on the grounds is in order for both dogs and business.

Frances McGowin: Founder and Executive Director of Service Dogs Alabama

Frances has worked for 14 years with the Alabama Department of Youth Services, Tutwiler and Kilby Prisons, the Alabama Department of Human Resources, and the Alabama Department of Post-secondary Education to develop therapeutic and educational programs for at-risk and incarcerated youth, children with special needs, Foster Care children and incarcerated adults. In 2008, Frances founded the Dogs On Call Therapy Dog program and served as the director for Dogs On Call and K-9s for Kids Service Dogs for seven years until it separated from Easter Seals in 2015 to become Service Dogs Alabama. She now serves as the Executive Director of Service Dogs Alabama. Frances is an avid animal lover and has trained dogs and horses most of her life. She is also an artist and writer and holds a Masters of Arts in Counseling.

Frances McGowin 

Ashley Taylor: Co-Founder and Head Trainer of Service Dogs Alabama

From an early age, Ashley became a student of animal behaviors. She has worked as a Veterinary Technician and volunteered with various breed rescues and shelters. Ashley also has shown various dog breeds in the American Kennel Club Conformation Shows. In 2009, she began working with Dogs On Call, a therapy dog organization, as a trainer and tester. In 2010, Ashley helped co-found the K9s For Kids Therapy dog Program, now called Service Dogs Alabama, and became the Head Trainer and Evaluator. As the Head Trainer, she oversees the training for all of the dogs and trainers which averages 40 dogs and 52 trainers. Ashley personally trains with every individual that receives one of our fully trained dogs and maintains close contact with our service dogs for their entire lives. Among Ashley's many talents, she excels at pairing a dogs natural ability and talent with the ideal job to help each dog reach its full potential. Each application for a service dog is personally reviewed by her so that she can ensure the applicant is matched with a dog that can help them live the life that they desire.

Ashley Taylor with one of our service dogs

Jessica Spears: Book keeper/Office Manager

Info and picture coming soon!

Paige Pritchett: Kennel Manager

Info and picture coming soon!

Kennels

Service Dogs Alabama provides the nicest kennels possible for their Service Dogs.

Front of kennels and puppy barn

The kennels are air conditioned and heated for the hot and cold days and are complete with fans for air circulation. They are very spacious runs that come in two sizes 5'x10 and 7.6'x10. Comfortable beds are provided in each kennel for the dogs to get plenty of rest! Service Dogs Alabama wants their Service Dogs to feel like they are at home so cable TV is provided for their entertainment inside. 

Service Dog Kennels 

A waste drain runs along the back of the kennels for cleaning purposes. The kennels are cleaned several times a day to provide the dogs with the cleanest and freshest smelling environment possible.

Bath/spa area for the dogs!

The kennel barn has a built in wash tub for keeping the Service Dogs clean and smelling their best. All of the dogs get their own spa day. They get bathed, blown dry, brushed, and nails trimmed all at one time. Each dog enjoys their spa day because they love getting pampered.

Outside kennels/play area

The outside kennels are very large with plenty of room for the dogs to play and exercise. Each kennel is provided with a shade shed, plenty of balls to chase, and big water buckets. All dogs have four fun hours of play time with each other every day.

Service Dogs Alabama offers boarding for your dog! You don't want to leave your dog any where else! Staff members are on the grounds 24/7 to provide for your dogs needs. For more information on boarding your dog at Service Dogs Alabama, call the Service Dogs Alabama office at (334) 676-3733

Welcome To Service Dogs Alabama's Blog!

Welcome to Service Dogs Alabama's Blog!

Here is a little about Service Dogs Alabama and what our organization does.

Service Dogs Alabama is dedicated to providing medical and psychiatric assistance dogs to children, adults, and Veteran's with disabilities and School Dogs trained to assist educators and counselors with student interventions that create drama-free classrooms. In the process of fulfilling our Mission, SDA rescues 50+ dogs a year, rehabilitates 50+ inmates a year who train our dogs in prison, change the course of the lives of children, adults and Veterans with disabilities, and alters classroom dynamics. Service Dogs Alabama, formerly K-9s 4 Kids, is a nonprofit organization serving families in Alabama and on the cutting edge for solving problems for shelter dogs, prison inmates, people with disabilities, and our educational system.

Service Dogs Alabama's Office

 The Service Dogs Alabama Blog is a great way to keep up with what all is happening with the organization. There will be daily blogs about our dogs, what stages they are in their training, what dogs we have at the Guice Slawson Training Complex in Hope Hull, Alabama, how you can help or volunteer, when we get new dogs or puppies in, about our boarding we offer and much more!!

The Puppy Barn/Indoor Kennels