“It takes an extraordinary dog to give someone an ordinary life.”
– KateLynne Steinke and NEADS Service Dog Jones
Extraordinary dogs for extraordinary people.
Your support helps NEADS raise and train World Class Service Dogs and provide life-changing independence, companionship, and connection for people who are deaf or have a disability.
It takes extraordinary resources to raise an extraordinary dog.
Countless resources go into breeding, raising, and training NEADS World Class Service Dogs before pairing them with someone with a permanent disability.
It begins with our investment in purpose-bred dogs, which are selected for temperament, health, and overall suitability for Service Dog work. Purpose-bred dogs are key to ensuring that we can get more dogs through training and place more dogs with people who need them.
With the assistance of Puppy Raisers, incarcerated individuals, prison liaisons, and other volunteers, NEADS invests 18-24 months and over $45,000 in each dog we breed, raise, and train. NEADS Service Dogs learn 50 to 60 tasks and commands that they execute with precision, accuracy, and consistency. The dogs exhibit good behavior in public and need to be confident and comfortable working in all environments.
We need your support to continue to breed, raise, and train these extraordinary dogs.
We need your support to continue to match extraordinary dogs with extraordinary people so they can live ordinary lives.
Service Dog fraud interferes with ordinary lives.
Fake and poorly trained “service dogs” – you’ve probably seen them in airports and grocery stores, on public transportation, in restaurants and hotels – can interfere with the life-saving work that legitimate Service Dogs perform for their human partners.
NEADS is committed to doing everything it can to help our working Service Dog teams navigate the world without worry. This year, we expanded our Red Vest Accessible program, partnering with five organizations in the greater Boston area to bring Service Dog accessibility training to front-line employees.
Through the Red Vest Accessible program, which was started as a pilot program in 2020, venues are recognized for efforts to offer a welcoming, accessible facility for those with a disability; commitment to public access rights for legitimate Service Dog teams; and ability to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of ADA regulations as they relate to Service Dog access.
On the legislative side NEADS has advocated for the passage of a Service Dog fraud bill in Massachusetts which aims to address the issue of people falsely indicating that their pet is a Service Dog to gain special status. This year, we have worked closely with MA State Representative Kimberly Ferguson and others to establish a commission dedicated to studying the framework for this legislation.
We need your support to continue our efforts to educate and advocate for our clients so they can live ordinary lives.
Each and every gift helps NEADS change lives. If you’ve already supported NEADS this year, thank you! If you haven’t yet contributed, please support NEADS World Class Service Dogs today.
Your support helps NEADS raise and train World Class Service Dogs and provide life-changing independence, companionship, and connection for people who are deaf or have a disability.
originally published 12/2019; updated 12/2024