LEARN MORE ABOUT US
OUR JOURNEY
Since 2007, we have been ethically breeding and training specially selected assistance dogs to carry out a range of practical tasks to assist profoundly disabled children and adults in order to achieve greater independence.
LET US HELP YOU
We train our assistance dogs to assist with practical, everyday tasks to help a person with a disability to live life to the full, breaking down barriers to the outside world and helping to improve confidence and stress levels.
TOGETHER WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE
We are very community focused and our assistance dogs are actively involved in Prisons, Schools, Adolescent Therapy and Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation. We are the only charity globally we know of that have a prison breeding programme.
HELP US
Each of our very special assistance dogs costs €15,000 to raise, train and care for over their entire lifetime. Our assistance dogs are provided to disabled partners free of charge and we depend almost entirely on donors like you and receive very little government funding!
WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT
Dogs for the Disabled was founded in 2007 due to a dire need for this type of service.
We listen, we care and everything we do, we do from our hearts. We are are determined to make a positive impact in the lives of those who come to us.
We have a very strict policy that no money passes hands for any dog for any specific child or adult. This is to ensure we retain legal ownership of each dog, which enables us to maintain their welfare and also so that there is no unfair advantage to anyone. However we ask post qualification that the families get involved in any way they can, so that another child or adult could benefit from a gift of an assistance dog like they did!
We are currently partners on two research studies – with TCD and the Dublin Neurological Institute – where an evaluation of the benefits of Assistance Dogs is being undertaken.
We are 100% committed to ethical breeding and training and treating everyone with dignity and respect.
Jennifer Dowler,
Founder,
Dogs for the Disabled
OUR SEARCH FOR A NEW HOME
OUR SEARCH
We are actively searching for a new Home-from-Home – a Training Base for each one of the children that travel from all over Ireland to train with their new Assistance Dog before returning home together.
We need a purpose-built building and site in order to provide a safe, comfortable and inspiring environment for child – assistance dog partnerships to train. We cannot continue to do our training in the public domain as it is a much too stressful environment for both child and dog and not conducive for learning.
So, if you know of anywhere or anybody that may be able to help us, please contact us today on:
- Phone us on 021 431 6627
- or
- Email us at info@dogsfordisabled.ie
Thank You,
Jennifer Dowler, CEO
OUR SEARCH – IN THE NEWS…
A huge thanks to Mary Hassett in the Evening Echo who wrote this lovely article about us, published on 31 May 2022. 
You can find read the full article here: https://www.echolive.ie/corklives/arid-40884926.html
