Smoky Mountain Service Dogs

10/14/2026

SMSD Ambassador Winston and SMSDiT Sully had a great day at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for ORNL Gives Day. They proudly wore their security badges and made lots of friends. Thanks for a great time!

10/13/2026

Thank you Knoxville News Sentinel for featuring us! We’re so grateful you guys could help share our mission! ☺️

Smoky Mountain Service Dogs trains pups into dogs that transform the lives of veteran and first responder recipients. See link below ⬇️

📸 Angelina Alcantar/ News Sentinel

10/11/2026

Happy 2nd birthday to Cougar and Fisher! 🎉 Both boys continue to excel in their training and we are so proud of everything they have accomplished. Thank you to everyone who has supported their journey so far! ☺️

10/09/2026

Larry can’t wait to eat his favorite pawTree food!

As the exclusive nutritional partner of SMSD, pawTree supplies all of our recipients with food for life of their service dog! 🙌💚

10/03/2026

Wellington passed his level 3 evaluation!! We’re so proud of him and so excited to see him take on his final level of training! 💪🎉

10/01/2026

2 down, 10 to go! We're so excited to introduce Gus and Pax, our newest service dogs in training!

🖤 Gus is a black Lab from Converse Premium Labs, sponsored and named by Susan Kohlman in loving memory of her mother, Augusta Finch George. Gus will be raised by Kelly Reedy and will be trained by Emily!

💛 Pax is a yellow Lab sponsored and named by Rocky Top W**e Trail. He’ll be raised by the Hartman Family and trained by Emma!

A special thank you to Jim Goyert for transporting these two pups safely from Ohio to SMSD!

We’re so excited to watch Gus and Pax begin their journeys toward becoming life-changing service dogs. ☺️

09/28/2026

Smoky Mountain Service Dogs would like to extend our sincere thanks to our 2026 Night for Patriots Event Sponsor.
Head Investment Partners has been our Event Sponsor since 2018 - 9 years!

09/25/2026

Callaway is officially a S.T.A.R. Puppy! ⭐🐾

We are SO proud of Callaway and his puppy raiser, Sarah, for earning his AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy certification! 👏

Sarah has worked so hard with Callaway, and her dedication, love, and support have helped him reach this exciting milestone.

Way to go, Sarah and Callaway! We can’t wait to watch this little S.T.A.R. continue to grow! 🖤💚

09/22/2026

Scooby is a S.T.A.R puppy!!! We are SO proud of him for his hard work! 🐶

His puppy raisers, Emily and Isaac Rodriguez, have poured so much into Scooby and we can’t wait to see him accomplish so much more with their support and love.

Help us congratulate this phenomenal team on this incredible an accomplishment! 🎉☺️

09/19/2026

From Puppy to Partner: A Journey Debbie Knows Well 🦮

Debbie began volunteering with SMSD in 2019 after visiting an SMSD booth at an event in Loudon County. Since then, she has filled many roles within SMSD.

Over the years, she has helped care for SMSDiTs at several different stages of their journeys. She has supported other puppy raisers through socializing and respite care, raised puppies herself, and even advanced fostered dogs prior to being paired with their recipients. She also helps welcome and onboard many new volunteers, supporting them as they begin their own journeys with SMSD.

Through each of these roles, she has had a hand in the journeys of many SMSDs, including Jojo, Wellington, Honor, Oak I, Bailey II, and now Sully. While her time with each dog has looked different, they have all been special to her in their own way.

Honor’s journey will always hold a special place in her heart. She first co-raised Honor and later had the opportunity to advanced foster him, making their connection especially strong. Saying goodbye to a dog you’ve poured so much love and time into is never easy, but seeing Honor with his recipient after team training gave her the reassurance she needed. Watching their bond begin to form made it clear that Honor was exactly where he was meant to be.🥹

For anyone considering puppy raising, Debbie emphasizes you won’t be doing it alone. Between the guidance of SMSD’s trainers, support from fellow volunteers, and friendships made along the way, there is always someone there to help. And at the end of it all is the opportunity to watch a puppy you helped raise become a partner to someone who needs them. Give a year, Change a Life.

Please help us thank Debbie for her dedication and commitment to SMSD and the dozens of lives she has made a positive impact on ☺️