ASSISTANCE/THERAPY ANIMALS TRAINING RESOURCES
These are Assistance/Therapy Animals Training Resources
Please also see:
Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence || Animal Abuse: Diagnostic Indicators
Animal Companionship ||
Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation
Animals for Comfort, Therapy, and Court Escorts || Animal Welfare
ARTICLES/INFORMATION/RESEARCH
(click here for Organizations/Agencies)
Blind Man Guides Way For Layla's Law
The Seattle Times, May 10, 2001
Dog Dials 911, Unlocks Door To Help Owner With Seizures
The Associated Press, October 29, 2004
Guide Horses
ABC News, March 30, 2001
Hawaiian Humane Society's "Pet Project"
Islandscene.com, October 6, 1999
A Helping Paw: Guide Dogs Provide the Blind with Vision, Independence, and Love
VetCentric.com, 2000
Trained by Inmates, New Best Friends for Disabled Veterans
The New York Times, October 31, 2006.
What is "Animal Facilitated Therapy"?
Information and guidelines for Animal Facilitated Therapy programs from the Northeast Rehabilitation Health Network .
ORGANIZATIONS/AGENCIES
(click here for Articles/Information/Research)
Animal Friends
2643 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 566-2103
www.animal-friends.org
Pittsburgh's only no-kill shelter for over 50 years, services include rescue, adoptions, therapy animal program, assistance animal information, pet care and training information, shelter directory.
Australian Support Dogs
P.O. Box 644
Mona Vale 2103
New South Wales, Australia
www.asdog.org.au
Training and free placement of service dogs for the disabled in Australia.
The Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc.
80 Powder Mill Road
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
Phone: (973) 292-3316
Toll-Free: 1-888-PET-5770
www.pet-therapist.com
Non-profit organization which evaluates, tests, trains and qualifies Therapy Dogs for work in nursing homes, hospitals, psychiatric wards and other facilities where Emotional Service Dogs are indispensable.
Canine Companions For Independence
P.O. Box 446
Santa Rosa, CA 95402-0446
Phone: (866) CCI-DOGS
Toll-free: 1-800-572-BARK
www.caninecompanions.org
CCI trains and provides service dogs for adults, adolescents, and children with physical or developmental disabilities, free of charge.
Canine Support Teams, Inc.
Southern California Office
P.O. Box 891767
Temecula, CA 92589-1767
Phone: (909) 587-2962
Northern California Office
P.O. Box 956
Galt, Ca 95632-0956
Phone: (209) 745-3701
www.caninesupportteams.org
Canine Support Teams (CST) is a California based non-profit organization that provides specially trained dogs to people with disabilities other than blindness. All dogs accepted into the training program pass rigorous health and temperament tests. These dogs are part of the CST breeding program or are donated by private breeders.
Canines for Combat Veterans
NEADS National Campus
305 Redemption Rock Trail South
Princeton, MA 01541
Phone: (978) 422-9064 Voice or TDD
Fax: (978) 422-3255
www.neads.org/services_new/military_dog.shtml
A program of the non-profit New England Assistance Dog Services (NEADS), Canines for Combat Veterans provides walker/balance service dogs to combat-injured veterans.
Chenny Troupe, Inc.
1504 North Wells Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
Phone: (312) 280-0266
www.chennytroupe.org
Non-profit organization dedicated to motivating individuals with special challenges through animal-assisted therapy programs using certified therapy dogs.
The Good Dog Foundation
607 - 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: (718) 788-2988
www.thegooddogfoundation.org
The Good Dog Foundation is the largest animal-assisted therapy organization in the New York Tri-State area. Therapy dog training and certification, research into the human-animal bond, adult and pediatric hospital and hospice visitation programs.
Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (U.K.)
Burghfield Common
Reading RG7 3YG
England
Phone: 0870 600 2323
www.gdba.org.uk
GDBA provides guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and visually-impaired individuals throughout the U.K.
The Guide Horse Foundation
2729 Rocky Ford Road
Kittrell, NC 27544
Phone: (252) 433-4755
www.guidehorse.org
The Guide Horse Foundation is a non-profit group providing free training and placement of miniature guide horses to blind and disabled individuals.
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
Information and Advocacy Center
38691 Filly Drive
Sterling Heights, MI 48310
Phone: (586) 826-3938
www.iaadp.org
IAADP is a non-profit, cross-disability organization representing people partnered with guide, hearing, and service dogs. Info on assistance dog selection, training, and partnership; lists of service dog groups in the U.S. and internationally; assistance dog laws and legal resources.
National Service Dog Center
Delta Society
580 Naches Avenue SW, Suite 101
Renton, WA 98055-2297
Phone: (425) 226-7357
deltasociety.org/dsb000.htm
Delta Society provides info about the NSDC: A comprehensive education system for service dogs, trainers, and handlers that will produce remarkable social and economic benefits for people with disabilities and provide futures for thousands of unwanted dogs.
North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA)
P.O. Box 33150
Denver, CO 80233
Toll-free: 1-800-369-7433
www.narha.org
NARHA is a non-profit organization promoting the rehabilitation of individuals with physical, emotional and learning disabilities through equine-facilitated activities.
PAWS With A Cause
4646 S. Division
Wayland, MI 49348
Toll-free: 1-800-253-PAWS
www.pawswithacause.org
PAWS provides trained assistance dogs for disabled individuals, including hearing dogs, seizure response dogs, and general service dogs.
Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta
330-9768 170 Street
Edmonton AB T5T 5L4
Phone: (780) 413-4682
paws.shopalberta.com
Pilot Dogs, Inc.
625 West Town Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: (614) 221-6367
www.pilotdogs.org
Pilot Dogs, Inc. trains dogs to be guides for blind and visually-impaired individuals, free of charge. Training of both dogs and human partners is funded through private donations. Newsletters, FAQ, application, and puppy donation info available at website.
Prison Pet Partnership Program
Washington State Corrections Center for Women
P.O. Box 17
Gig Harbor, WA 98333
Phone: (253) 858-4240
members.tripod.com/~prisonp/
The Prison Pet Partnership Program places rescued dogs with prisoners at the women's correctional center, for grooming, boarding, and training as assistance/therapy animals. The trained dogs are provided at no cost to disabled individuals.
The Shiloh Project
12210 Fairfax Town Center
Fairfax, VA 22033
Phone: (703) 591-3600
www.shilohproject.org
The Shiloh Project's mission is to break the cycle of violence for juvenile offenders and children at risk by instilling a sense of compassion, respect, and responsibility through the experience of training and nurturing homeless dogs awaiting adoption.
Support Dogs U.K.
Unit 6, Rotunda Business Centre
Thorncliffe Road
Thorncliffe Park
Chapeltown
Sheffield
S35 2PG
Phone: 0114 257 7997
www.support-dogs.org.uk
Training and placement of seizure alert dogs, general assistance dogs, and medical assistance dogs for people with various disabilities in the U.K.
Therapy Dogs International, Inc.
88 Bartley Road
Flanders, NJ 07836
Phone: (973) 252-9800
www.tdi-dog.org
Non-profit volunteer group providing qualified handlers and Therapy Dogs for visitations to institutions, facilities, and any other place Therapy Dogs are needed.
Utah Animal Assisted Therapy Association
P.O. Box 18771
Salt Lake City, UT 84118-8771
Phone: (801) 280-1855
www.uaata.org
UAATA pecializes in training and supervising skilled handler/animal teams to work with the professional staff of care-giving facilities sponsoring animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and animal-assisted activity (AAA) programs.
