Paws Giving Independence NFP

I need a family pet home! ❤️🐶

Meet Colby, our sweet 8-month-old retriever mix, looking for his forever home! Due to dental hypoplasia, Colby is being career-changed from a working dog to a pet, but his vet assures us that his condition won’t be an issue in a loving pet home. Though he’s lost a few teeth and can’t retrieve well, he has plenty of love to give.

Colby is a bit shy and needs some time to warm up to new people, so we’re searching for a patient, understanding family who can give him the space to feel comfortable. For this reason we think he would do better without small kids. He’s still a playful pup at heart and is ready to bring joy to his new home. He will need continued training to be his best! He is house trained, crate trained and knows basic obedience skills.

Could Colby be the perfect match for you? Reach out to learn more!

First step is a family pet application: https://givingindependence.org/family-pet-application/

Dog Diary from Oliver and Jamie📚🐾

I use a wheelchair full time and am completely paralyzed from the chest down. I was doing my household chores and was struggling to reach something. Oliver was laying by me and looked up, seeing me reaching for something that was out of my reach. He quickly got up and ran into the living room. He came back carrying one of my grabber tools. I hadn't said a word to him - he just knew Mom was struggling and knew exactly how to fix it.

It might not seem like much to the average Joe, but this moment meant the world to me. The goal from the beginning was to become a team with Oliver. A service dog is so much more than a tool. He is an extension of myself and my very best friend. He has learned my habits and can premeditate my needs before I even know sometimes.

This moment is the result of months of training together and building this unbreakable bond ❤
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THANK YOU🐾❤️

Thank you to all of our amazing vets in the Bloomington Normal area, Peoria area, and Lincoln area that take amazing care of our service dogs in training and service dogs!

Thank you Demanes for taking great care of Marty during his recent visit! He told his puppy raiser that you all took amazing care of him and gave him many pets!

We greatly appreciate all of the support the DVM , VT and Staff give our trainers and recipients when they bring in the dogs!
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Demanes Animal Hospital Eastland Companion Animal Hospital Big Hollow Companion Animal Hospital

Bentley and Willow would like to send a huge thank you to HKS Financial Partners for their generous donation to our organization!

Herzog Kistner Shaw Financial Partners is a long time supporter of our organization and we cannot thank them enough! Our community partners are truly amazing and they are an essential part of our organization. 🐾❤️
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Sunshine! ☀️

Mango loved her furlough week on Bradley’s campus. She got to work on her skills in a new environment and loved every second of it, not to mention all of Bradley’s students just love her. How could you not?! 🤗
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First Federated Church

Did you know September is National Service Dog Month?!

This month is devoted to raising awareness as well as showing gratitude for the amazing work service animals and service dogs in training do each and every day!

Our mission
“ The objective of PGI is to train service dogs to assist people with a variety of different disabilities while providing support to encourage independence. PGI educates the public about the benefits of service dogs and encourages animal rescue by obtaining some of our animals from shelters and rescue groups”

From all of us at PGI- we are saving a life to change a life🐾❤️
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📣 Important announcement: The Paws Giving Independence fundraising committee has decided not to hold the Paws-toberfest Walk/Run this year. We are very excited about upcoming events including: new shirt designs, a holiday dog photo shoot, and 2025 events including trivia! Stay tuned for more information on how you can support PGI’s mission.

For sponsorship and donation opportunities, email [email protected].

🎉 Welcome to the family, our newest rescue pup! 🐾 This adorable little guy is on an incredible journey—from shelter dog to service dog in training! We couldn’t be more proud to give him a loving home and a bright future. Thank you to for trusting us with him! Grafelman Farms Rescue

But his story isn’t over—his sweet sister is still looking for her forever home. If you or someone you know is ready to open their heart, she’s waiting! Contact them for more info on his sister Sophie! 💕

End of Summer Fun!

As August comes to an end and September begins tomorrow, our dogs have been soaking up the last days of warm, summer sun! But, soon they will have nice cool fall days to enjoy!

We hope everyone had an amazing August and that September treats you well!
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Happy Fri-YAY from Mango!! 🤩🐕‍🦺
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First Federated Church

Happy National Dog Day!!

From all of us at PGI, we wish all of our 4 legged dog friends a Happy National Dog Day🐾❤️

As many of you all know- PGI is a non-profit organization. PGI is ran completely on public donations. We are unique because our service dogs are placed free of charge and we currently have no paid staff.

If you are interested in donating on National Dog Day or any day to our service dogs in training- the link is below and we greatly appreciate your support❤️

Link: https://givingindependence.org/about-us/donations/
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Siblings Sunday! 🐶🐾💜

Many of our service/facility dogs and service dogs in training have siblings at home! During their time in training, sometimes the trainer is unable to take their foster with them for an extended period of time (going out of town, overnight, etc). This means that they get to spend extra time with their siblings or have a sleepover with their friends! Our volunteers and recipients are amazing and are always willing to lend a helping hand when needed and we are forever grateful for that!
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Today, Clover and Zeke completed their puppy raising journey and are now apart of the Helping Paws Program for their next stage of training!

We can’t wait to watch them learn and grow❤️
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Illinois Department of Corrections

Today, Paulie and Mojo graduated from the Helping Paws Program and will start their transition training to be full-time working dogs!!

We would like to thank their helping paws trainers for their hard work, dedication, and time in training these pups🐾❤️

We also want to thank The Ward Family for sponsoring both of these pups and their training! It means a lot to everyone at PGI☺️
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Illinois Department of Corrections

Way to go Marshall! 🐾

Happy Wednesday!!

It’s almost FRIDAY!!! Blaze wants everyone to know you have made it halfway through the week and it’s almost the weekend!!
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PGI.Blaze

Back to school! ✏️

Mason and Millie are happy to be back at school. All of their pals missed them dearly. They want to wish everyone a wonderful year! 📚
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Thank you Wheels O' Time Museum! 🚗

We are so thankful for Wheels O’ Time hosting our annual training outing. They graciously donated tickets to our recipients, trainers, and family members! The museum allows our dogs to experience a large variety of sights, sounds, and movements. We introduced our dogs to train horns, car sounds, animatronics, mannequins, moving objects, farm equipment, and so much more! We are so thankful for Wheels O’ Time and their amazing staff! 🦮🐾
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Congratulations to Winston, Daisy, Bowie, Ru, and Nala on passing their annual re certification tests! Great job on continuing to be a successful working team!
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Dixie: “Look what I have! Can we go for a swim?” 🏊‍♂️🐾

After a week filled with lots of work and fun, Dixie can’t wait to go home and enjoy the summer weather before it ends! Happy Friday, Dixie! Enjoy your weekend!
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Birthday wishes! 🥳

We want to wish Jayden (left) a happy 2nd birthday! She is in training to be a facility dog and is doing great. She is spending her birthday with her best pal and will be playing in the park, getting lots of love, and going for a pup cup. Swipe for an adorable puppy pic. Enjoy your special day, Jayden! 💕🎉
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We were very happy Congressman Eric Sorensen took the time today to meet with some of our volunteers and recipients to learn about our program. Thank you for all you do for our community and for visiting us today.

🐾 Puppy Public Access Alert! ‼️

Congratulations to Clover for passing her level one access test! She is now allowed into public spaces with her vest! We are so proud of the pups and everyone who help them achieve this milestone!

Go Clover and team🐕‍🦺❤️
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Dog Diary📚🐾

Happy 3rd Birthday Marshall🥳🐾
From Marshall
“ I just recently celebrated my 3rd birthday and I had so much fun!! This past week- I got to return back to the school I’m a facility dog at and I got to see all of my favorite people! I didn’t forget one face!! I can’t wait for the student to return!”
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Bruno and Lily at the Illinois State Fair🎪🎟️

Helping Paws pups Bruno and Lily got to go to the Illinois state fair this past week! During their time, they spent time at the DOC tent and some time walking around visiting other state agencies!

At Logan Correctional Facility- the women in the helping paws program help us train our service and facility dog! The women do a spectacular job and we couldn’t do it without their help and support!
Illinois State Fair
Illinois Department of Corrections
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Heavy on the poodle side eye when Nemo heard its almost back to school time 🤓

Nemo absolutely loves training and can’t wait to hopefully see kiddos back at school, but part of him wishes summer fun can last forever! We’re right there with you, Nemo! Enjoy the last few weeks of summer! 🐕‍🦺☀️
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PUPPY ALERT🐾❤️

Today PGI welcomes another wonderful addition! Welcome the newest 8 week old Black Labrador named Sherman from NEADS World Class Service Dogs.

We would also like to thank Puppies in flight with American Airlines for getting our puppy safe to his puppy raiser!

Another huge thank you to St. John’s VBS youth group for sponsoring this puppy! St. John's UCC, Minier

Thank you all and we can’t wait to watch him grow❤️
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BACK TO SCHOOL📚

After a much needed summer- our facility dogs are excited to get back into the swing of things and see their favorite students and staff!!

Welcome back to school!!
Stay turned for our college campus service dogs in training to head back!
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