Canine Assistants

Canine Assistants service dogs assist children and adults with physical disabilities or other special needs in a variety of ways. Some of the tasks dogs learn to perform include turning lights on and off, opening and closing doors, pulling wheelchairs, retrieving dropped objects, summoning help, and providing secure companionship.

In addition to service dogs and companion dogs, Canine Assistants also trains and provides seizure response dogs for certain recipients. Following general training, seizure response dogs are trained to perform one of the following behaviors, depending on the recipient’s need: remain next to the person during the course of a seizure, summon help in a controlled environment, or retrieve a phone prior to the seizure when indicated by the recipient. Certain dogs may even develop the ability to predict and react in advance to an oncoming seizure once they are placed with their recipient.

Canine Assistance operates on a needs basis and many of the people who need a service dog most cannot afford one. Therefore, Canine Assistants covers the training, food and medical costs for the life of every dog placed. An application is required and you can expect to be placed on a waiting list.