Client Stories
NEADS brings together a community of puppy raisers, incarcerated individuals as handlers, on-staff trainers, and others to produce a highly trained Service Dog who is then matched with someone to mitigate a specific disability.
There is nothing more telling about the successful and lasting human-animal partnerships this community creates than the stories of the lives these World Class Service Dogs change.
Everything I Need, and More
How Service Dog Logan has changed Tammie DeCroteau’s life for the better…
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Meet Kona, the Service Dog for Hearing
From GBH News: This service dog changed a woman’s life after losing her hearing. After Kate Weaver lost much of her hearing, she turned to a service dog to bridge…
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Celine and Service Dog Raylan
We heard from Celine Stahl at the January annual meeting and are sharing her remarks here. Celine spoke from the heart when she described her journey with Service Dog Raylan.…
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Dennis & Service Dog for Hearing Nalton
Dennis was matched with NEADS Service Dog for Hearing Nalton in January 2023. We asked him to share some insights about his life with Nalton. “What can I say about…
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Mary and Service Dog for Hearing Ivy
Mary was matched with Service Dog for Hearing Ivy in December 2021. She recently shared with us some insights about life with Ivy.
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Jim and Service Dog for Hearing Hazel
Jim is a veteran who was matched with Service Dog for Hearing Hazel in September 2022. He recently shared with us some insights about life with a Service Dog for Hearing.
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Service Dogs of the Game 2022
NEADS was well-represented at Fenway Park this past summer. As part of the Boston Red Sox Service Dog of the Game program, which NEADS has supported since 2019, several NEADS…
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Creating Smiles: Christine and Assistance Dog Jonesy
Christine never stops smiling when she talks about her partner, Assistance Dog for the Classroom Jonesy. Which is fitting, as she says “he creates smiles.” Christine is an elementary school…
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Jonesy – “Making Each Day Better”
When 5th grade counselor Christine Brouillard works with students, she’s got extra help: a gentle yellow Lab named Jonesy. It’s been a year and a half since NEADS Assistance Dog…
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Changing a Life: Patrick and Service Dog Knight
It’s been a year now since Patrick met Service Dog Knight. Patrick still works as a specialist at an Apple Store. He still lives in his North Shore condo. His…
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Jared and Trauma Assistance Dog Jeter
NEADS asked U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jared Wimberly to explain how Trauma Assistance Dog (TAD) Jeter works with him to calm and ground him. TAD Dogs learn specialized task work…
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Steve & Service Dog for Hearing Charlotte
Army veteran and retired Chicago police officer Stephen Hood’s hearing was profoundly deteriorating; even his hearing aids and cochlear implant were not enough to alleviate the mounting challenges of his…
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The Best Things in Life…
Nathan was matched with Service Dog for a Child Zepplin in 2021. His mother, Leah, shared this update at the Fall 2021 graduation: The best things is life are complicated…
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Grace and Blue –Then and Now
Grace was matched with Blue, a NEADS Service Dog for Autism, in 2017. We recently caught up with Grace and her parents, Corwin and Renee, and were so inspired by…
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Hospitalization and Recovery during a Pandemic
The pandemic has been difficult for all our TAD* veterans, but one client in particular, Rebecca, found herself in an extremely tough situation. A few months prior to the pandemic, she had to make the hard decision to have her second leg amputated. She had only had her Service Dog, Sully, for about 4 months at that time and was clearly worried about what to do with him while in the hospital…
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