About Fenrir Service Dogs Limited
How it all started
About Fenrir Service Dogs Limited, or in other words, the story behind the organization. In 2012 I became a disabled veteran and started looking for a service dog. At that time in the area there were little to no resources available for training service dogs. The few that were available were out of the local area and were so costly that they were out of reach for most people to pay out of pocket.
I began training my current dog at the time in obedience and public access. Then started working on the tasking he would need to help me.
While out in public I would often get asked “How did I go about getting my service dog?” I had to explain that I did the training myself as I had a background in dog training. Time and time again I had people that wished they had the same knowledge and could to the same thing as they were in need of a service dog but were not able to afford the cost of a program dog as it was often beyond what they could afford. Those programs were often farther away then what the people could travel.
The next 8 years went by and it was time for my dog to retire. In 2021 while searching for my next service dog I was able to come into a dog that was a possible candidate although he needed to go through a lot of training before he was ready to work for me. As part of that I decided to take him to a training class to work on his obedience in a group setting.
After talking to the instructor and finding that they would also like to see an independent training organization in the area I began assisting in training basic obedience classes. Latter that year I began doing all the service dog training with clients for the trainer. The basics of what would latter become Fenrir were discussed at length and idea after idea was worked out.
In January of 2022 an application was submitted to the IRS for a nonprofit 501(c)(3) status for Fenrir and was granted in March. That started the official beginning of Fenrir.
Where Fenrir service dogs is Headed
What we want to see
Our goals for the future are to expand the offerings from Fenrir. From the type of tasking that the dogs are taught to the level of availability of training.
We hope to achieve accreditation through Assistance Dogs International so that we can be available for veterans going through the Veterans Administration in order to get a service dog.
In the mean time we are expanding our knowledge of training techniques by constantly searching out best practices and ethical standards.
While this isn’t everything to come About Fenrir Service Dogs Limited, and we can’t predict the future, we look forward to good things to come.
One thing that is certain about Fenrir Service Dogs Limited is that nothing is certain, while we have goals and things we would like to see happen we aren’t set in stone as to what the future will bring us. Knowing that we adapt to what comes along and work things out the for the best interest of the dogs and their handlers.
Our Trainers
Chas Carr is the service dog instructor for Fenrir. He is pictured here with his second multiple purpose dog Theo who provides mobility and mental health assistance. Chas has been training dogs since around 1989.
He began with training pet dogs in obedience and encountered his first special needs dog, Two, a deaf Dalmatian who was trained using only hand signals and went on to be a reliable off leash family pet.
Chas is a military veteran of the United States Air Force and the West Virginia Army National Guard where he served as a Supply Technician and then latter as a Health Care Specialist.
Chas obtain certification as a Military Working Dog Decoy in the Air Force where he was able to assist Air Force Dog handlers at Beale Air Force Base California as well as Prince Sultan Air Base Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also served as a personal protection decoy with Diensthunde of Greater Sacramento with Gregg Tawney, as well as a decoy for Yuba City Police, Marysville Police Department, Yuba County Sheriffs, Sutter County Sheriffs Departments. Parkersburg Police, West Virginia State Police, and Belpre City Police in decoy, tracking, and scent detection.
Chas also studied under Jim Dobbs while in California. Chas apprenticed under another instructor from 2021-2023 where he assisted in teaching obedience, trick, scent detection and personal protection training. He later began learning how to teach other individuals how to train service dogs and became the primary trainer for the service dogs section. Both Chas and Theo work in search and rescue doing human remains detection for K9 Search and Rescue Services of West Virginia Inc. Where they have worked with multiple city police departments, West Virginia State Police, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, Sherriff Departments, as well as having been on a search involving the FBI, US Marshals Service, State Police and Beckly City Police joint task force. Chas and Theo have received numerous awards and titles from agencies such as The American Kennel Club, Raleigh County Prosecutors Office of West Virginia, National Organization Certifying Search and Rescue, and K9 Search and Rescue Services of West Virginia Inc.
Chas has is certified by the American Kennel Club as a Canine Good Citizen evaluator, as such he is able to do the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, Canine Good Citizen, AKC Community Canine, and AKC Urban CGC evaluations. Along with this Chas received a separate certification to be an AKC Temperament Test Evaluator.
As a veteran and service dog handler Chas saw first hand how service dogs could benefit their human handlers as well as the difficulty many veterans faced in being able to train or obtain a service dog. Fenrir Service Dogs Limited has been a multi year endeavor to help ease that burden and help those that need assistance through training, education, and selection of dogs for service work.
Chas has received his Service Dog Trainer certification from Animal Behavior College in 2023.