Gateway to Information on  Assistance, Therapy and Other Working Dogs

AnimaLink,Inc
Provides support to and facilitate efforts of those improving human lives through beneficial interactions between humans and animals.--Animal Assisted Activities  & Animal Assisted Therapy
 

Assistance Dogs International Inc.
An non-profit organization which contributes to the improvement of the areas of training, placement, and utilization of Assistance Dogs as well as staff and volunteer education.--Guide Dogs , Hearing Dogs, Service Dogs,Therapy Dogs

A Therapy Dog Program
An outline of  a practical training program by Lyn Richards designed to introduce potential therapy dogs to situations that they may experience while visiting people with various disabilities.  A good place to get ideas about how to prepare your dog for therapy visits.
 

B
Best Friends: Therapy Dogs Helping Aphasic Adults
This program provides Innovative materials created for users of animal-assisted therapy who strive to improve the communication skills of men and women with aphasia.
 
 

C
 Canadian Guide Dogs For The Blind
A national, non-profit, registered, charitable organization that assists visually-impaired Canadians with their mobility by providing and training them in the use of professionally trained Guide Dogs.

Canine Companions for Independence
A non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and
ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.

Contra Costa County Guide Dog Raisers,Inc.
A non-profit,tax-exempt organization which provides the fundamental socialization skills required of guide dog candidates.

"Create-A-Smile" Animal-Assisted-Therapy Teams
An organization offering a wide variety of seminars and training classes.  There are ambitious plans for a Therapy Dog Training Institute.
Pet-Assisted-Learning Project (PAL),    Therapeutic Riding Program  ,  Service Dogs
 
 

D

Delta Society
The leading international resource for the human-animal bond. Delta Society has been the force to validate the important role of animals for people's health and well-being by promoting the results of research to the media and health and human services organizations.

Dr. P's Dog Training
Dr. Mark Plonsky (Dr. P), is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin--Steven Pointto's web organizes and gives visitors easy access to the information available on the Internet about dog training and behavior.

Dreamworkers, Inc
A nonprofit organization dedicated to helping owners of dogs and cats in the use of their pets for Animal Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Activities.
 
 

E
EYE  DOG  FOUNDATION
An organization which provides, at no charge, trained German Shepherd guide dogs to the blind and visually impaired for the
enhancement of their safety and independence.
 
 

F
Florida Dog Guides For The Deaf, Inc.
A statewide program in response to the deaf/hearing impaired residents of Florida who  select to use "trained dogs to serve as their ears."

Friendship Foundation
Friendship Foundation volunteers and their pets visit various facilities to enrich the lives of children and
adults.  A designated liaison arranges and attends all group visits.
 
 

G

Green Chimneys
Provides innovative and caring services for children, families and animals. The agency serves as a leader in the development of specialized programs that foster individual competencies and self-reliance.

Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (US)
An organization which has provided guide dogs free of charge to blind people who have enhanced mobility and independence since1946.

Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. (US)
 A nonprofit,charitable organization with a mission to provide guide dogs and training for visually impaired people throughout the United States and Canada.

Guide Dog Association of  New South Wales and A.C.T
A non-profit organization that provides a full range of services and training to enhance the mobility and independence of blind and partially sighted people.

Guide Dogs of the Desert International
A public benefit nonprofit corporation which provides independence and mobility for blind persons with special needs through the use of guide dogs.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind,Inc.(US)
An organization which is dedicated to enriching the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, thereby assuring greater independence, dignity, and new horizons of opportunity.

Guide Dogs Of America
An organization which provides guide dogs and instruction in their use for blind and visually  impaired men and women from the
United States and Canada so that they  may continue to pursue their goals with increased mobility and independence.

Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc.
An organization which has provided guide dogs free of charge to blind people who seek enhanced mobility and independence.
--GDF-Grads website

Guide Dog Users, Inc. (GDUI)
An international organization dedicated to advocacy, peer support, public education, and all
aspects of training, working, and living with dogs specially trained to guide blind and visually impaired people.
 
 

H
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
An organization that has continued to train dogs to alert deaf people to specific sounds, whether in the home, workplace or public buildings.
 

I
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)
A non-profit, cross-disability organization representing people partnered with guide, hearing and service dogs.

International Federation of Guide Dog Schools for the Blind
Encourages and advances the concept and provision of Guide Dogs worldwide as a means of independent mobility for people with a visual disability.  
 

L
Latham Foundation
An organization providing research support on various aspects of the human-animal bond (e.g. how visiting animals benefit patients, seniors and others, etc.).

Loving Paws Assistance Dogs
A non-profit organization which trains and provides assistance dogs for children under the age of 18 around the United States who are physically disabled.

Leader Dogs for the Blind(US)
  A non-profit group that is committed to providing the legally blind with a means to help them live a better life.
 This organization provides general information about leader dogs and gives laws concerning leader dogs in video format.
 
 

N
North Carolina Puppy Raising Program
Volunteers who raise puppies for a year before they enter formal guide dog training, affiliated with Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
 
 

P
Pacific Animal Therapy Society
P.A.T.S. operates as an active animal therapy program on southern Vancouver Island.

PAWS With A Cause
An organization which encourages independence for people with disabilities globally through Assistance Dogs and worldwide education.

Pawsitive Connection
A non-profit organization, located in Arkansas, whose mission is to explore and promote the human-animal bond as a way of improving a person’s quality of life.

"Pets and People"
An internationally acclaimed organization promoting Therapy Animals and owner-trained Service Animals.  Also a leader in the research on cats as Service Animals.

Pets Are Loving Support
A non-profit agency organized to improve the quality of life of people with AIDS by preserving and promoting the human/animal bond through the care and maintenance of their animal companions.

Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta
This group  provides education and support to individual and companion animal teams involved in pet  therapy programs.
 
 

R
Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind (NZ)
 This foundation trains blind people in techniques to work with guide dogs and use special technologies such as computers with software that can turn text into speech, closed circuit televisions for magnifying text, etc.
 
 

S
SamsungAnimalWelfare(KR)
A division of the company which provides guide dogs, search and rescue dogs, therapy dogs and hearing dogs.
--Samsung service dogs web page.

Seeing Eye(US)
An organization which concentrates on its mission to enhance the independence, dignity, and self-confidence of blind people through the use of seeing eye dogs.

Service Dogs Invisible Disabilities
An online community comprised of individuals living with invisible disabilities, who are assisted by a service dog.

Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc
Southeastern Guide Dogs’ mission is to offer, free of charge, a unique opportunity to achieve independent travel with safety and dignity to blind men and women, through the use of professionally and humanely trained guide dogs.

T

The Dog-Owner Connection: Pet Therapy
An organization offering training, advice, program evaluation and other services to help individuals or groups wishing to start or improve a pet visitation program.

 The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation(US)
 A non-profit organization that breeds, raises, trains, and places highly qualified German shepherd guide dogs with men and women who are blind throughout the Northeast.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
 An organization which enhances the mobility, independence, and quality of life of sight-impaired people by providing guide dogs and other services.

The Guide Horse Foundation
A non-profit charity which provides a safe, cost-effective and reliable mobility alternative for  visually impaired people and delivers trained Guide Horses at no cost to the recipient.

Therapy Dogs International
A volunteer group organized to provide qualified handlers and their Therapy Dogs for visitations to institutions, facilities, and any other place where Therapy Dogs are needed.

Therapy Dogs, Inc
Helps dog owners use their dogs for therapy work in various places such as nursing homes, hospitals and schools, as well as work with the mentally and physically handicapped.

Therapy Dogs of Vermont
All-volunteer, non-profit organization of highly-trained dogs and their handlers.  Our handler/canine teams work on the emotional health of patients in hospitals and residents of nursing and retirement homes.

Therapet AnimalAssisted Therapy Foundation
A non-profit organization which  works to accomplish this through the education and training of health care professionals, evaluation and training of animals and human volunteers, as well as the establishment of ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY programs throughout the country.
 
 

U
Upper Michigan Dog Therapy Project
This rganization offers a variety of services to educate and train individuals, volunteers, professionals and organizations in a wide variety of aspects of setting up and maintaining a pet therapy program.
 
 

V
Velmas Pets as Therapy
Based in Australia, this group provides trained volunteer and pet teams that visit the people in nursing homes, retirement villages, etc.
 

W
Western Guide Dog Foundation
A non-profit organization striving to be the leading provider of services for the visually impaired in the Canadian Prairies.

West Indies Service Helpers (W.I.S.H.)
A service dog training center in the West Indies which provides quality trained assistance animals to disabled individuals who require more personal independence.
 

Additional organizations…

The BARk Unleashed
Berkeley,CA

Program for Companion Animal Behavior
UC Center for Animal Alternatives

School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California, Davis

10/8/02