Help our team support Canadian families

Provide ongoing care and support for our Service Dog Teams

It is our mission to empower people to achieve their full potential with strategically trained and certified service dogs, catalysts for restorative change. Recent Canadian statistics report that 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with autism, 1 in 4 veterans are living with PTSD and 1 in 3 first responders have PTSD. Our programs are needed now more than ever and our families can best attest to the incredible and lasting impact these dogs have. "To say that NSD Lynx has been a life saver seems like a tremendous understatement; my life and my whole family’s life has changed so much and I feel a true happiness that I never believed I would ever feel again. I have a new, manageable life with my wife and my son that I never dreamed would be possible, let alone dared to imagine, before receiving this wonderful gift. Today with the help of NSD Lynx my family and I “LIVE” with PTSD, we no longer “SUFFER” from it.” ~ Lawrence

Background

National Service Dogs (NSD) was founded in 1996 as a response to the increasing need for effective interventions in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder. In its inaugural year, NSD launched the world’s first service dog for autism program, establishing an effective and customized resolution to alleviate the bolting behaviors, anxiety and resulting effects in children with autism. To date NSD has deployed over 550 dogs to Canadians in need and has continued to respond to the needs of an ever-changing demographic of individuals living with an assortment of physical and developmental disorders. Since 2009 our companion dog program has placed dogs with children with various disabilities to support them within their homes. In 2011 NSD established service dogs for Canadian military veterans and first responders with PTSD program. This distinguished program has been a catalyst in the treatment of Canadian veterans and has played a crucial role in the rehabilitation and recovery of individuals living with PTSD. In 2013, NSD launched our Canine Assisted Intervention (CAI) program which places service dogs with treatment professionals, working as therapy teams to aid in the recovery of abuse, trauma and physical injuries in children and adults. NSD’s certified service dogs are valued at $40,000 over their eight to ten year working life; and each dog is provided free of charge to our clients. NSD receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations.

The good deed

Your donation today will provide mental health training for our staff team at our facility in Cambridge, Ontario to help our team better support our Service Dog Teams and families across Canada. With your support we can make a meaningful impact on the lives of Canadian families by providing them with strategically trained, life-changing service dogs, at no cost to them. Each future service dog begins training around 8 weeks old until they graduate in one of our four programs and are placed with our clients and families at two years old. We receive no government funding and rely entirely on donations from the general public, corporate sponsors, fundraising events, and community supporters. We couldn't do this work without your support to offset the costs associated with the necessary staff training to best support families in need of our support.