IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Snake River Animal Shelter’s Idaho K9 Academy will soon break ground on a new training facility. After receiving a $100,000 grant from the Cross Foundation, they have been able to lease land from the airport on Olympia Street. They still need to raise another $80,000, but Executive Director Kristin Sanger is hopeful that they will be able to break ground this spring and open by August.

The Idaho K9 Academy has been operating for over a year now, first opening in January 2019, the Post Register reported. In its first year, it brought in $93,000. The idea started after Sanger realized 17% of the animals adopted from the shelter were being returned, mostly due to behavioral issues.

“We started an initiative called the Keep Fido Home Initiative, where we just wanted to see if teaching shelter dogs basic training could make a difference. We saw an immediate 5% reduction of returns,” Sanger said.

The Idaho K9 Academy began after shelter employee Coby Voronovich decided to attend Highland Canine Training school in North Carolina to get his master dog training certification. The shelter paid for part of the training costs with the understanding that he would come work at the shelter after completing the course.

Voronovich, who has a degree in nuclear engineering, said dog training school was far more rigorous than college.

The six-month intensive program was in the "middle of nowhere” in a town with one stoplight and single gas station. He trained for 12 hours a day and, when finished, still had four hours of homework to complete. To make matters worse, the school, which consisted entirely of outdoor facilities, was hit by two hurricanes during his time there.

“It would be pouring rain, and there we were outside training dogs,” Voronovich said.

Of the 20 people that had entered the program, only nine graduated. Voronovich was among them. The rest had either dropped out or failed.

Afterward, however, Voronovich was a master trainer who could do it all. He returned to Idaho Falls and immediately began working to found the Idaho K9 Academy.

Once started, the academy began training every dog that came through the shelter in basic obedience and conducting private and group obedience classes.

Soon though, people began coming in and inquiring about service dogs as well.

“It just kind of put a bug in our ear. Could we take a shelter dog that has the right drive and train them to be a service animal?” Sanger said.

Which is exactly what they did. Unlike many service dog programs, the Idaho K9 Academy dogs are all adult shelter dogs. Voronovich searches shelters across Idaho, Montana and Utah to find dogs with the right personality and drive to become a service dog.

“Some dogs don’t want to be a working dog. The dogs who do want to, they love it. They get to go everywhere with you. They get to see all these things. They get attention from you,” Voronovich said.

Otto is a golden retriever mix who was so wild that his original owner had shown up with him hog-tied in the bed of a truck. Otto showed signs of abuse and neglect, and didn't know how to socialize with humans. Soon, Voronovich realized Otto was one of the most intelligent dogs he'd encountered and put him through the service dog training program.

Former Post Register Commentary Page Editor Katie Stokes' 13-year old daughter was diagnosed with a type of autism that makes certain sensory experiences difficult. This made school, with its crowded hallways, especially overwhelming. Her daughter had difficulty going out into the community and ended up leaving school.

After trying a number of different treatment options, Stokes decided to see if a therapy dog would help. Otto and her daughter were a match made in heaven. Otto has been trained to clear paths through crowds and keep people from getting too close.

"She can now leave the house basically on a daily basis. ... She has gotten off all her medication since Otto came to live with us. She is much happier and much more able to cope," Stokes said.

Voronovich's father is a veteran, which has made him passionate about service dogs who assist those with PTSD. The Idaho K9 Academy offers free training and even free service dogs to veterans. Yet Voronovich has struggled to get people to take advantage of this offer.

“Most of those veterans, I’ve hunted them down. You get these big, masculine guys, and they're like: ‘I don’t need no dog.' And then we get them in here, get them talking and realize they haven’t been able to go to the movies or to family reunions in 10 years,” Voronovich said.

Voronovich spoke of one veteran who had particular difficulty with crowds. He wasn’t even able to go to his children’s soccer games. His new K9 Academy dog was able to make sure his owner knew when someone was approaching from behind so he wouldn’t get spooked. The dog also watched for signs that his owner was getting overwhelmed. He would then pull his owner out of the crowd. After a while, the owner was able to begin recognizing for himself when he was getting anxious.

“Now, he is able to go to crowded events and knows when he needs to step outside for a few seconds to collect himself before returning,” Voronovich explained.

Another unique aspect of the Snake River Animal Shelter is the shelter’s inmate program. The program gives certain inmates at the St. Anthony Work Camp the opportunity to participate in the Idaho K9 Academy. Every Monday Voronovich goes to the camp to teach the inmates how to train their dogs that week. The inmates then spend 10 to 12 hours a day for five to six days a week training their canines. Each dog is with the inmate for six to eight weeks.

"We’re giving the inmates a trade they can use once they get out, but we’re also giving them the sanity of knowing that they’re helping somebody. It gives these guys such a sense of routine. You can’t skip exercising them on a Sunday or feeding them a meal because you’re too tired. It’s a very therapeutic program,” Voronovich said.

Voronovich said he can't wait to continue training at the new facility. It will be a 3,000-square-foot wood and steel building. The extra space will mean more dogs than ever can be trained.

"I love giving these people their lives back through a service dog. Seeing these inmates come back into the real world and not getting back into trouble. Helping police officers stay safe on the street. Anywhere I can help the community is just huge for me. I love it to death," Voronovich said.