Service Dogs for America

Great Plains Assistance Dogs Foundation DBA Service Dogs for America (SDA) is a fully accredited (by Assistance Dogs International) service dog training program. SDA proudly offers their services as a BEST PRACTICES organization.As a result of the high standards and dedication to being a best practices organization, the Executive Director was nominated for and elected to hold a seat on both the International and North America chapter Boards for Assistance Dogs International. Service Dogs for America's Executive Director holds the secretary position on the International Board and chairs the Candidate Review Committee within the North American chapter. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our program experienced significant decline as we could not place dogs with individuals with disabilities, during that time. For all of 2020 placements were stopped as we could not encourage travel for our clients who have high-risk health concerns. All of our clients have disabilities, making it difficult to impossible to travel for team training. All of our prison programs closed causing another hardship for the organization. We also experienced significant difficulty with staffing during this time.Our program continues to feel the after-effects of Covid-19. These after-effects have lingered well beyond what we expected. We continue to have shortages of staff, difficulty securing purpose bred canines that are of both appropriate health and temperament for service dog work. For fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, Service Dogs for America placed one dog and continued successfully processing applications during the pandemic, getting applicants medically qualified to receive a service dog from our program. We also continued training service dogs (during the pandemic) for veterans and civilians, including first responders - for PTSD, Seizure Response, and Mobility Assist service dog. Due to an inability to secure sterile samples for training, we were forced to drop our Diabetic Alert Service Dog training.Service Dogs for America places services dogs within the lower 48 states in the US. As evidenced by the number of dogs placed, one of the newest and most successful programs Service Dogs for America currently is the PTSD service dog program. We secured a grant which assisted us in placing service dogs with veterans at no cost to the veteran.Service Dogs for America continues to be one of the only fully accredited (by Assistance Dogs International, ADI) service dog organization placing PTSD service dogs with civilian, first responders, as well as veterans. Service Dogs for America has been accredited by ADI since 2010.Service Dogs for America is also the only Assistance Dogs International accredited organization without a waiting list for client placements. That means as soon as a client is medically approved for placement, their team training can begin as soon as they can travel to our campus for team training! The industry has an average waiting list of two to five years!Our Inmate Canine Assistance Programs (ICAP) continues to flourish. We started our flagship ICAP program in Jamestown (James River Correctional Center) in 2008. In June 2015, we expanded into the Bismarck region by adding a Prison Puppy Program at Missouri River Correctional Center (MRCC). In April 2016, we partnered with the North Dakota State Penitentiary to offer ICAP at their facility in Bismarck. With these programs, our certified trainers instruct inmates on our dog training techniques and the inmates work, daily, training the canines on tasks and behaviors from Basic 5 commands (sit, stay, down, heel, come) all the way through advanced service dog behaviors (alert, open door, etc.). There are 34 handlers in ICAP. That is 34 residents who are able to learn to train service dogs and give back to the community through their service. The ultimate goal of this program is to offer inmates a useful job skill which will assist them in their transition back into society.Service Dogs for America also collaborates with dog rescue organizations in the region to obtain appropriate dogs for the program. The dogs are temperament-tested by the staff at Service Dogs for America. If the trainer feels the dog has the characteristics of a good service dog, SDA may accept the dog into our program. If the dog doesn't meet the criteria for a service dog, the rescue organization will get the dog back and will be able to adopt out a dog with basic skills and manners. We feel it will be a beneficial endeavor for all involved, as lack of obedience is a main reason a lot of shelter pets are abandoned or returned.SDA continues to lay the groundwork for a Courthouse Dogs (victims' advocacy) program. This program would allow dogs to provide comfort and assistance to victims in every aspect of court proceeding (interviews, testimony, questioning, etc.). The program planning is in its infancy.