Canine Companions Assistance Dog Team Sponsorship

2017 is quickly coming to a close, and the year has been another good one for Canine Companions for Independence.  For the third consecutive year, over 300 assistance dogs have been placed free of charge with adults, children and veterans with disabilities.  In our 42 year history, over 5,500 assistance dogs have been placed.  Today, we have over 2,200 active graduate teams.  Despite placing over 300 assistance dogs, we still have over 400 people on our waiting list for an assistance dog.  

Canine Companions is also pleased to announce that we will begin placing dogs with veterans with PTSD in 2018 at our national headquarters in Santa Rosa, California.  This will be a small, controlled local pilot.  We are presently raising funds to build a new training building that will be used for this program.

Canine Companions has been part of a multi-year study with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) which involved training and placing dogs with veterans with PTSD.  The VA study is designed to measure the benefits veterans with PTSD experience when placed with a service dog versus an emotional support dog.  Once the data has been collected from all participating veterans in 2019, the results will be published worldwide in scientific journals.

Serving veterans is not new to Canine Companions, as we have placed more than 250 assistance dogs through our Veterans Initiative.  

The continued support we receive makes programs like our PTSD program and Veterans Initiative possible.  

On Friday, August 4, Canine Companions for Independence celebrated Graduation Day around the country.  68 assistance dog teams were placed from our regional centers located in Santa Rosa, CA, Oceanside, CA, Irving, TX, Orlando, FL, Delaware, OH and Medford, NY.  Over 250 assistance dogs have been placed in 2017, putting us on track to place over 300 assistance dogs for the third consecutive year.

On Friday, Canine Companions also recognized the placement of the 5,500th assistance dog in the 42-year history of the organization.  All 5,500 plus assistance dogs have been placed free of charge to people with disabilities, or to those  Facility graduates who utilize a Canine Companions assistance dog in special ed classrooms, hospitals, court rooms, and more. 

There are still several more Team Trainings and graduation ceremonies scheduled in 2017.  One who hopes to be among the 2017 class is 18-year-old Adam, who is awaiting a successor dog.  Adam has been teamed with Kiki, who recently retired.  Adam shared that "Canine Companions has become a huge part of our lives.  I cannot imagine my life without a Canine Companions assistance dog by my side." 

Canine Companions is growing, and with that growth comes the need to expand our facilities.  Our Southwest campus is breaking ground on a new building, and we soon hope to add an additional training building at our Santa Rosa campus.  We also are planning to replace our current North Central facility with a new campus in New Albany, OH. 

Every donation that is made helps make a difference for Adam and other people with disabilities who are waiting to be paired with a Canine Companions assistance dog.  We appreciate your support of our organization and the people we serve.