🐾 A Word From Mr. Mutt Ruff
“Well, butter my biscuits and scratch behind my ears!
Have I got a story fur you!
Now, I’ve always figured us dogs were pretty talented. We can hear a snack bag open three rooms away, locate a dropped piece of bacon faster than a vacuum cleaner, and somehow know when our favorite human needs a little extra lovin’.
But there’s a whole bunch of four~legged fellas and gals over in Waverly who’ve taken bein’ a good dog to an entirely different level!
These pups don’t just fetch tennis balls.
They’re helpin’ people fetch back a little freedom.
And if that don’t make your tail wag and your heart swell, I don’t know what will.
Pull up a chair, my friends. This one’s worth sittin’ and stayin’ fur.”
~ Mr. Mutt Ruff 🐾
Your Critter Corner Correspondent
WAVERLY, IOWA ~ Some of the most remarkable heroes you’ll ever meet don’t wear capes.
They wear collars.
They have four paws, wagging tails, and a remarkable ability to understand when someone needs them.
And in Waverly, Iowa, an organization called Retrieving Freedom has spent 15 years helping turn that special connection between people and dogs into something life~changing.
On Saturday, October 24, 2026, the organization is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a service~dog graduation at Wartburg College.
The graduation celebration is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, and the public is welcome to attend free of charge.
But this isn’t just an ordinary graduation.
These graduates have spent years preparing for a job that requires patience, dedication, and a very special kind of heart.
More Than a Good Dog
Retrieving Freedom trains and places service dogs with veterans living with disabilities and children with autism.
For a veteran, a specially trained dog may provide assistance with mobility, help with disability-related tasks, or offer support that makes navigating everyday situations easier.
For a child with autism, a service dog may help with routines, transitions, and situations that might otherwise feel overwhelming.
Every partnership is different because every person has different needs.
And that’s what makes the work so special.
These dogs aren’t simply taught to sit, stay, and shake.
They’re carefully prepared to become dependable partners.
In fact, Retrieving Freedom’s service dogs undergo approximately two years of preparation before placement.
During that time, they learn how to remain focused in public, respond to specific needs, and work safely alongside their future handlers.
According to Retrieving Freedom, raising, training, and placing a service dog costs approximately $50,000.
But here’s something that deserves an extra~big tail wag:
The organization provides its service dogs to qualifying clients at no charge.
That’s possible through the generosity of donors, volunteers, foster families, and others who believe in the mission.
Fifteen Years, More Than 200 Special Partnerships
Retrieving Freedom placed its first service dog 15 years ago.
Since then, the organization reports placing more than 200 service dogs with veterans and children with autism across 32 states.
Think about that for a moment.
More than 200 partnerships.
More than 200 stories of people and dogs learning to understand, trust, and depend on one another.
And behind each partnership are countless hours of training, preparation, encouragement, and care.
There are also volunteers who welcome young dogs into their homes, helping them experience the world before their advanced training begins.
Those early lessons matter.
Because one day, a puppy learning to behave calmly in a grocery store or walk politely beside someone may grow into a service dog who makes a tremendous difference in another person’s life.
A Graduation With a Little Extra Heart
The October 24 anniversary graduation will bring together service-dog teams from the classes of 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, celebrating the partnerships and dedicated training behind their accomplishments.
Visitors will have an opportunity to celebrate the dogs, the people they serve, and the many individuals who helped prepare them for their important work.
And while there may be plenty of wagging tails, this is also a chance to appreciate something deeper.
For the people receiving these dogs, the partnership can represent greater independence, reassurance, and confidence in everyday life.
For the people who raise, train, and support them, graduation represents the culmination of years of dedication.
And for the dogs?
Well, perhaps their greatest reward is getting to do what they were trained to do — stand faithfully beside the person who needs them.
Mr. Mutt Ruff Has One More Thing to Say…
“Now, I don’t wanna brag, but I can sit, stay, and give ya my paw when there’s a biscuit involved.
But these dogs?
Good gravy, they’re somethin’ else!
They’ve spent nearly two whole years learnin’ how to help their humans!
That’s a mighty long time to keep your nose outta trouble and your paws on the straight and narrow.
And they do it with a kind of loyalty that us dogs understand mighty well.
See, we don’t always need fancy words to tell somebody we care.
Sometimes we just stay close.
Sometimes we walk beside ’em.
And sometimes we remind ’em that whatever they’re facin’, they don’t have to face it alone.
So here’s a great big PAWS UP to every service dog, every trainer, every volunteer, and every person who’s helped make Retrieving Freedom possible.
And to all those graduates?
You make this old mutt mighty proud.
Keep waggin’, keep lovin’, and keep makin’ this world a little kinder, one pawprint at a time.”
~ Mr. Mutt Ruff 🐾❤️
Your Critter Corner Correspondent
Want to Attend?
Retrieving Freedom 15th Anniversary Graduation Celebration
Saturday, October 24, 2026
10 a.m. ~ Noon
Wartburg College
100 Wartburg Boulevard
Waverly, Iowa
Admission: FREE
The morning graduation is free to attend. Retrieving Freedom is also hosting a separate, ticketed anniversary gala that evening.
For additional information, visit retrievingfreedom.org or call the organization’s Waverly facility at 319~505~5949.
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