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NEADS Celebrates World Class Service Dogs with Gala on Boston’s Waterfront

On October 12, a sold-out crowd gathered at The Exchange Center in Boston’s seaport district for the 4th annual Get Dressed. Give Back. fundraiser for NEADS World Class Service Dogs. Keynote speaker Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey emphasized that by working together, people facing challenges can get the help they need to participate fully in…

NEADS Service Dog Rescue, Jessica and Patrick Host National Schools Webcast

NEADS Service Dog Rescue has had quite a year. He was named the ASPCA Dog of the Year and his family published their first picture book, Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship, to great reviews, national press attention, and instant New York Times best-seller status. Now, Rescue and his picture book team are set to…

Year of the NEADS Dog Month 9 – The One Year Evaluation

Welcome to month 9 of our Year of the NEADS Dog series, in which we highlight the transition our Service Dogs in Training make during their first year with us. This month, we check in on our one year old puppies. At one year of age, each dog in training returns to NEADS for one…

NEADS 6th Annual Fore Paws Golf Classic a Success

On Monday, September 10th, we gathered once again for our annual golf event. After 5 years of near perfect weather, we were destined to play in the rain at some point, and this was the year. Thank you to everyone – the 90 golfers, staff, and volunteers – who came out to brave the elements.…

Ask the Vet: Plan now for holiday pet travels

Yes, fall is almost here. And while your next big vacation with your pets might not happen until Thanksgiving or winter school break, now is the perfect time to plan for traveling with our pets. Some people like to plan travels meticulously, and some like to roam free. It’s really a matter of personal choice.…

Remembering Rainbow

Rainbow was the first dog matched with a veteran in the NEADS Canines for Combat Veterans (now SDV) program and served her partner, Roland, honorably. She went on to serve NEADS as a canine ambassador and lived out her remaining years as the well-loved, constant companion of former NEADS employee John Moon.

Year of the NEADS Dog Month 8 – A Different Route

We continue our Year of the NEADS Dog series, in which we highlight the transition our Service Dogs in Training make during their first year with us, by highlighting a different path that some of our puppies take. Most NEADS Service Dogs are raised in correctional facilities through our Prison PUP Program. The dogs live…

Supporter Spotlight: The Reiser Family Foundation

The Reiser Family Foundation recently donated 350 copies of the best-selling Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship (featuring NEADS Service Dog Rescue) to distribute to hospitals with a robust pediatric department and other organizations working with children. This is just one of the many ways the foundation supports NEADS.

Stephanie and Assistance Dog Tootsie

Tootsie, an Assistance Dog for the Ministry, was matched with Pastor Stephanie Smith of Cathedral in the Night in October 2017. Since that time, she’s made quite an impact on the Northampton, MA congregation. Pastor Smith continues the story. Cathedral in the Night is out-of-the-box – literally, as we don’t have a building, and we…

The Working Dog Project

The Working Dog Project, run by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is applying cutting-edge genomics to investigate how genetic variation influences two key working dog behaviors: scenting and retrieving. Specifically focused on finding the genetic loci associated with key behavioral traits of military and Service Dogs, the ultimate goal of the project is…

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By Amanda Charbonneau | Jan 21, 2019

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By NEADS World Class Service Dogs | Jan 21, 2019

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Year of the NEADS Dog Month 12 – Specialized Training

By NEADS World Class Service Dogs | Jan 17, 2019

Welcome to month 12 of our Year of the NEADS Dog series, in which we highlight the transition our Service Dogs in Training make during their first year with us. This month, we take a look at one of the final steps in a dog’s training – specialized training for a specific “career”. As we…

Hanae Witkum

By Amanda Charbonneau | Jan 8, 2019

Hi, my name is Hanae! I just turned 16 and got the best birthday wish ever. My parents applied for a Service Dog for me through NEADS! We went on an interview which I was very nervous about – I get teary sometimes when I have to talk about myself – and we were accepted…

What It Is Like Having A Service Dog

By NEADS World Class Service Dogs | Jan 1, 2019

I have always been a dog person. When I was injured in 2011, I briefly entertained the idea of having a dog, but felt I needed to take care of myself more and didn't want to put extra responsibility on the caregivers who help me. You see, after my spinal cord injury, my life became a constant battle between different therapies, doctors’ appointments, home exercise, and just getting my life back to some normalcy. This took me a little over a year, but even then, I didn't feel as though I could comfortably take care of a dog. Now that I have Oliver, I somewhat regret not getting a dog sooner.… but then, if I had gotten a dog sooner, it wouldn’t have been Oliver.

Thank you for a World Class 2018

By NEADS World Class Service Dogs | Dec 31, 2018

At NEADS, it takes a nation to raise a World Class Service Dog. NEADS Nation is made up of many people contributing in many ways for many different reasons.

World Class Service Dogs