Founded in 1998, National Service Dogs (NSD) provides fully-trained service and companion dogs primarily to individuals with disabilities. NSD works out of Cambridge, Ontario towards its mission of empowering people to achieve their full potential through the support of service dogs. The charity trains and pairs dogs with people in need through four programs: Certified Service Dogs For Autism, Certified Service Dogs For PTSD, Canine Assisted Intervention, and Companion Dogs. All dogs are provided to eligible clients at no cost.

In F2020, NSD served 204 people, and vetted/trained 73 dogs. The charity also had 31 new puppies enter its training program. No breakdown of spending by program was provided by the charity.

Certified Service Dogs For Autism are typically Labradors and Golden Retrievers trained specifically for children living with Autism. NSD notes that these dogs work to improve the quality of life for autistic children and their caretakers by increasing their safety and helping these children suppress their behavioural outbursts.

Certified Service Dogs For PTSD are provided to Canadian veterans and first responders living with long-term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. NSD reports that these service dogs aid individuals with PTSD by providing reality affirmation and by indirectly encouraging their caretakers to create positive daily routines.

Canine Assisted Intervention dogs work as partners to professional therapy teams working to address health and wellness in areas such as trauma, or addiction.

Companion Dogs are for children who are under the age of 18 and living with various disabilities. Companion dogs are not certified for public access, and receive no special training other than in basic obedience. They contribute to increased wellbeing for their owners by providing companionship, decreasing stress, and encouraging their owner to exercise.

NSD reports that it places over 83% of its dogs with clients, while the dogs determined to be unfit for its programs are transitioned into pets available for purchase by the general public under its Very Important Pet service.

National Service Dogs received donations and special events revenues of $842k in F2020. The charity received $93k in donated goods in kind and $16k in fees from clients. It also received $98k in covid-19 wage subsidy relief from the government. Administrative costs are 13% of total revenues and fundraising costs are 12% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, 76 cents go towards its programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

National Service Dog’s funding reserves of $302k can cover just under 6 months of annual program costs.

National Service Dogs uses external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. In F2020, NSD reported paying $25k to external fundraisers that raised $204k. For every dollar raised from external fundraisers, it paid $0.12 to the third party.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to National Service Dogs for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 21, 2021 by Rachel Leteta.