At the park, Rescue the black Labrador chases balls down and leaps with athletic abandon.
He came into Kensky ‘s life six months after the Boston Marathon bombing. Full Story
Read our archive of selected media coverage about NEADS World Class Service Dogs. If you would like to write or film a story about NEADS, please contact us.
WBUR: NEADS Assistance Dog Bailey Graduates From Service Dog Training
May 26, 2016
Here and Now, WBUR: Here & Now has spent the last year following Bailey, a budding Service Dog raised by MA-based NEADS. During the week, NEADS are trained by, and live with, prison inmates (under the expert guidance of professional dog trainers). Then, on weekends, the dogs go to families. In this segment, Bailey graduates from service dog training. Here & Now co-host Robin Young has our story.
WBUR: NEADS Service Dog Meets His Match
May 25, 2016
by Robin Young, Here and Now, WBUR
Here & Now has spent the last year following Bailey, a budding service dog raised by the Western Massachusetts-based NEADS organization.
During the week, NEADS dogs are trained by, and live with, prison inmates (under the expert guidance of professional dog trainers). Then, on weekends, the dogs go to families. Bailey started his life with inmate Bernard, but after committing an infraction, Bernard lost Bailey, who was transferred to inmate Antonio.
In this segment, Bailey meets his new owner, Ashley, who has weakness in her arms and also uses a wheelchair. Here & Now‘s Robin Young reports.
Listen to the previous segment here:
Worcester Telegram: CEO One on One: Gerry DeRoche
Apr 26, 2016
Chief Executive Officer, Gerry DeRoche, has been leading NEADS since 2010, when he made the decision to leave a 33-year career in banking for the nonprofit world. The University of Connecticut graduate resides in Concord with his family, which includes two golden retrievers. Full Story
WBUR: How A Dog Becomes A NEADS Service Dog
Nov 11, 2015
Robin Young, WBUR: Western Massachusetts-based NEADS is nationally known for its remarkable success training dogs to be service dogs for deaf and disabled Americans. In the first of a series, Here & Now’s Robin Young takes a look at how a dog becomes a NEADS service dog.
Providence Journal: Handling with care: By training service dogs, ACI inmates help others
Feb 24, 2015
John Hill, Providence Journal: On Tuesday morning, two dozen inmates filed into the cafeteria at the John J. Moran Medium Security Prison. There were 13 dogs in the room with them.
But the dogs weren’t there to guard the inmates; the inmates were there because they train the dogs.
The Boston Globe: Princeton nonprofit sells stuffed marathon service dogs
Jan 29, 2015
Sacha Pfeiffer, The Boston Globe: In need of a ‘Rescue’? Nonprofits are always on the hunt for new revenue, and some of them dabble in retail to bring in extra money.
Think museum gift shops or online stores selling coffee mugs and note cards. Now NEADS, a Princeton, Mass., nonprofit that trains service dogs, wants to bolster its fledgling retail operation — and, if history repeats itself, the item it’s selling won’t stay in stock for long.
The Boston Globe: Her decision, their life
Jan 25, 2015
Eric Moskowitz, The Boston Globe: They were full with newlywed love that brilliant Marathon Monday, fused in joy and then in disaster. Raked by the blast, Patrick and Jess would both lose their left legs. But Jess, harder hit, has held for two years now against the loss of her right. Everything seemed bound up in that choice.
WCVB-TV: Service dogs Jake, Rossi Boy named after fallen firefighters
Jul 23, 2014
Two service dogs-in-training have been named after two Boston firefighters who lost their lives in a Back Bay fire earlier this year.
NEADS, a nonprofit organization based in Princeton, Mass., will hold a special event Thursday at the Engine 33, Ladder 15 Firehouse in Boston to honor Lt. Edward Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy, who died in March.
Walsh’s widow, Kristen Walsh, and Kennedy’s mother, Kathy Crosby-Bell, will have the opportunity to meet the two dogs that they have each been named in honor of the fallen men.
NPR: Service Dog Guides Marathon Bombing Victims Through A Grim Year
Apr 20, 2014
Sacha Pfeiffer, NPR — All Things Considered: At Monday’s Boston Marathon, many runners will be on the course to honor the 16 people who lost limbs in last year’s bombing. One married couple was among them: Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes. Among many dark stories of that day, theirs is among the darkest. They were newlyweds of just seven months when each had their left leg blown off. Their injuries were so severe that they were some of the last victims to leave the hospital. But we want to tell you an encouraging part of their story. It involves an 80-pound black Labrador retriever named Rescue who is specially trained as a Service Dog by NEADS. Full Story