Our Journey
Elkie’s Story
Elkie, our beloved German Shepherd, holds a special place in our hearts as she was our first disability assistance dog, qualifying in 2007. At the tender age of two, she was graciously donated to our charity following the death of her previous owner. Partnered with Lucas, who battles Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Elkie served as his Stability Dog, offering unwavering support and companionship. Throughout her working life, Elkie remained Lucas's devoted partner until her well-deserved retirement at the age of ten. Though she passed away at the age of thirteen during her happy retirement, her legacy lives on. We attribute finding our permanent home to Elkie's guidance, and in her honour, we've named the main driveway "Elkie's Way," where her ashes now rest. Her remarkable spirit continues to inspire us as we press on in our mission to transform the lives of children and adults with physical disabilities through the extraordinary power and love of our dogs.
Dogs for the Disabled is a pioneering charity established in 2007. We train specially bred dogs to assist disabled children and adults to help them achieve greater independence in their lives.
We ethically breed and train Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Standard Poodles for specific physical disabilities.
We run an extremely successful Mobility Dog Programme and it is the only programme of its kind currently running in Europe.
We work with hospitals and community facilities where our dogs who do not graduate as Assistance Dogs are trained as Therapy Dogs and Canine Assisted Intervention (CAI) Facility Dogs for patients and service users.
We work with the Irish Prison Service who support our breeding and foster training programmes.
Jennifer Dowler, Founder & CEO
Since 2007, we have been driven by our belief in a better world for our partners. We are creating a world where they are active members of society and are not limited by their disability.
We have a very strict policy that no money passes hands for any of our dogs, for any specific child or adult.
This is to ensure we retain legal ownership of each dog, which enables us to maintain their welfare throughout their lives and also so that beneficiaries receive their dog based on NEED and not financial status.
Our Assistance Dog waiting list is OPEN, let us help you and together we can make a life-changing difference.
Senator Dr Tom Clonan, Chairman of our Board of Directors.
“Irish Dogs for the Disabled is highly successful, providing approximately 35 Assistance Dog Partnerships per annum completely free of charge. We are achieving this to the highest ethical standards and best practice as audited by Assistance Dogs International.”
