Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animals

Mission: To raise, train and place dogs with disabled veterans and children. The majority of our recipients include children with autism and combat veterans with ptsd, tbi and mobility issues.

Target demographics: children and adults suffering from neurological disorders and veterans diagnosed with PTSD/TBI

Programs:
•We raise, train and place service dogs for a variety of special health-care needs.
•We provide registered Pet Partners, Instructors and Evaluators for animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy. More than 60 volunteer Pet Partner teams work with children and adults at facilities throughout Iowa. Three such programs are: oLiteracy programs featuring Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ), in partnership with the Des Moines Performing Arts Family Series events, schools and libraries across the state, and at Beaverdale Books. oAbilities Through Agility at ChildServe, a pediatric long-term care facility where children with special health-care needs take a trained dog through an agility course, thereby fostering their speech, occupational and physical therapy. oVisiting individuals who are hospitalized, in rehabilitative therapy, and in hospice.
•We run dog-agility trials and are registered with NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council, Inc. )