National Service Dogs' mission is to enrich the quality of life and enhance the independence of children and families living with autism and special needs by providing them with specially trained Labrador and Golden Retrievers.

NSD'S VISION

NSD's goals moving forward include the construction of a NEW Training and Education Centre that will have the capacity to meet the demands of children and families living with autism now and in the future. With the successful completion of NSD's Building Paws-Abilities Capital Project, National Service Dogs will be in a position to place 40 new autism service dogs annually while continuing to service past graduates and their service dogs. With increased funding and capacity for growth our goal is to reduce client wait times, expand the Train the Trainer Program in order to assist children with autism living outside of Canada and expand and diversify NSD's volunteer programs. National Service Dogs is committed to the concept of Kaizen, continuous improvement, and our loyal family of clients, volunteers, donors and staff will continue to drive NSD to achieve these goals.

AUTISM SERVICE DOGS

Since 1996, National Service Dogs has been training Labrador and Golden Retrievers to assist children and families living with Autism. Our dogs increase safety levels and alleviate the bolting behaviours common in children with autism by acting as an anchor when tethered to the child. We are proud to be the first school in the world to provide this service to families with children who are autistic.

NSD HISTORY

In 1996, a desperate plea for help from, Maureen, the mother of a 3 year old child with autism, Brodie, led to the development of the first and only service dog program focused on children with autism in Canada. In 1997, NSD matched Brodie with a quiet, sensitive black lab named Shade. The incredible success of this founding team brought popular attention from the media and the Geneva Centre for Autism, Toronto, Ontario. Today Brodie and his second service dog Shadow are in high school and Brodie is actively volunteering for NSD, speaking on our behalf and assisting with team training for new clients.

From these humble beginnings the dedication of founders Heather and Chris Fowler and Danielle Forbes lead to the development of the first autism service dog program of its kind in the world.

Heather and Chris Fowler were instrumental in bringing NSD to an international level and their efforts for National Service Dogs and children with autism are recognized by service providers across Canada and around the world.

Although the Fowlers have moved on to other endeavours their contributions to the organization are greatly appreciated and our graduates: past, present and future, will be forever grateful for their vision and efforts.

Executive Director, Danielle Forbes, continues to bring a great passion, empathy and enthusiasm to NSD and is committed to the organization's future growth and success.

With the help of dedicated, hard working staff, directors and volunteers the founders' vision of placing 40 new autism service dogs a year from a new kennel and training facility will be realized.

Today National Service Dogs has graduated over 170 autism service dog teams across Canada, is supported by 9 staff, 200 hard working volunteers and thousands of donors and has helped service dog providers around the world start their own autism service dog programs.

Everyone at NSD is dedicated to expanding the National Service Dog family of clients and quality of services:

One Child, One Dog, One Life at a Time.