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About Assistance Dogs Australia

Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) is a provider of highly skilled dogs to assist children and adults with a disability to become more independent in society, less reliant on paid and unpaid carers and alleviate their disability.  The service is essential for hundreds of disabled people who live all over Australia. 

Assistance Dogs Australia focuses on enhancing the quality of life for people with physical disabilities. Being able to perform tasks with the help of an Assistance Dog leads to greater self esteem, something that is vital to all human beings. 

Assistance Dogs Australia operates without recurring government funding and relies heavily on volunteers and sponsorship. It costs $20,000 and takes two years to train each puppy. The Assistance Dogs Australia service is offered to beneficiaries at no charge. Recipients include people with C4 quadriplegia, cerebral palsy and paraplegia.

 Assistance Dogs Australia helps a broad spectrum of disabled people who are restricted in one or more core activities.  Core activities include self-care, basic mobility and effective communication.  According to the Australian Bureau of statistics (1998), 15 per cent of the Australian population (2.8 million people) suffers from this type of disability.

Assistance Dogs Australia is the only Australian assistance dog organisation  accredited through Assistance Dogs International

WANTED: Puppy Raisers and Sitters

Have you ever wanted a puppy, but couldn’t commit to one for the next 15 years? Would you like to help change someone’s life for the better?  Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a puppy raiser for Assistance Dogs Australia?

Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) is looking for puppy raisers and sitters in the Wagga Wagga area.

Assistance Dogs Australia is a non-profit organisation that trains Labradors and Golden Retrievers to enhance the quality of life of people with physical disabilities. It is Australia’s only internationally accredited assistance dog organisation.

The puppy raising family is a vital element in the entire program as it is the foundation for nurturing a dog that is a stable, dependable and trustworthy companion for a person with a disability.

ADA supplies all food, flea and tick control for your puppy and pays any vet bills that may occur while you are raising the pup.

Puppy raisers receive their pups when they are between eight and twelve weeks old, and care for them in their homes for up to 14 months. They ensure that Assistance puppies are socialised and well mannered in a whole range of settings, including the local shopping centre, public transport, even going to work with the family. All these experiences prepare the puppy for its future role as an Assistance Dog.

Puppy raisers also attend regular classes in order to help the puppies to learn the commands and skills required in order to become an Assistance Dog.

Commitment is the key to success for Assistance Dogs puppies.  They need families who are prepared to follow the Assistance Dogs guidelines, attend classes and work as a team with staff to ensure that puppies graduate to our advanced training programs.

If you are interested in raising a beautiful pup and helping to change someone’s life, please call ADA toll free on 1800 688 364 or visit www.assistancedogs.org.au Registered Charity No. CFN 15453.