Handi-Dogs, Inc.

As a young high-schooler looking to expand her horizon for future career options, Handi-Dogs really showed me which path I was meant to be on. This is such an amazing company that is run by a charismatic team. Every time I go to a training session I leave feeling refreshed and encouraged to work with my pets at home. I have never seen an organization work so hard for their community like this one does. Handi-Dogs has the purest intentions for every dog that walks in their door and helps them leave as a better member of the community.

I can’t imagine life without my service dog that you taught me how to train, and certainly without all of you from Handi-Dogs. Everyone is so patient, understanding and so good to me. Just know that I am very grateful. There are no words that could express how I feel. I know I can’t express myself, but when I come home from any opportunity we have to help, my confidence is building. I’m sure you know when we get to help a new team, we’re the ones that are receiving a treasure of your experience of training and every time we learn a little more. Thank you, It makes life worth living again.

Being a Foster at Handi-Dogs has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life! Watching a dog that I've helped rescue go on to help a person with disabilities gives you an incredible feeling that is hard to explain unless you've lived it!

I have been working with Habdi-dogs for 6 years now and continue to be impressed with the training skills they demonstrate. The “teams” (clients and their service dogs) are empowered to experience life to the fullest by having the confidence to go outside, to work, to play, etc. it certainly is a game changer for many.

What an amazing organization! I just became involved with Handi-Dogs and had the opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony for teams of newly trained service dogs and the person for whom they are providing assistance. The work these teams go through to complete the program is extensive and at least 18 months long. Each graduate talked about how important the support they got from Hand-Dogs staff and volunteers was to their success. The Rescue to Service program they have started identifies, fosters, and trains shelter dogs that are good service dog candidates. It is truly inspirational. Keep up the great work!

Being part of the Rescue to Service (RTS) Program has been one of the most rewarding experiences. This program pairs shelter dogs with fosters who teach the dog basic obedience skills and provides insight into the socialization and temperament of the dog in the hopes that the dog is matched with a person with disabilities ranging from mobility challenges, hearing challenges, psychiatric disorders, diabetes and seizures.

When I joined the program in August of 2017, I knew nothing about dogs. This did not matter because the Handi-Dog team took the time to teach me how to take care of and train the dog. This training allowed me to take a shelter dog, offer it a safe and loving home, teach it basic obedience skills, socialize it, and prepare it to go on to help someone in a short amount of time.

I am always asked, "How can you give up the dog"? I tell people it is not about me. It is about the dog and the person that the dog is going to help. When you see the dog get matched, the progress the dog and the person are making, and how it is changing not only the dog's life but the person's life, it will bring tears of joy to your eyes. I am so proud I am part of Handi-Dogs.

Handi-Dogs, Inc. is always looking for people interested in fostering because the need in the community is so great. So if you want to give back to the community and improve the lives of a dog and a person with a disability, I would highly recommend giving your time to Handi-Dogs, Inc. They are very supportive and do wonderful work. Thank you Handi-Dogs!

I was introduced to Handi-Dogs, Inc. in July of 2017 when I was researching and interviewing organizations that had volunteer opportunities where I could help people and give back to the community.

Handi-Dogs, Inc. is an amazing nonprofit organization that offers several programs/classes emphasizing handler/dog teamwork and using positive reinforcement techniques. First, the Service Dog Program helps people with mobility challenges, full or partial hearing loss, psychiatric disorders, diabetes, seizures and other disabilities train their own dogs to be their service dog. Second, the Pet Drop-In Class helps those who want to teach their dogs to be well-mannered companions. Third, the Pet Therapy Drop-In Class helps individuals that want to volunteer as a therapy dog team and take their dog to hospitals, hospice, assisted-living and read-to-a-dog programs. Lastly, the Rescue to Service Program pairs shelter dogs with fosters who teach the dog basic obedience skills and provides insight into the socialization and temperament of the dog in the hopes that the dog is matched with a person with a disability.

Volunteering with Handi-Dogs has been a very pleasurable experience. It's unlike other volunteer opportunities because they understand how vital a volunteer is to the organization and they make us feel appreciated and like part of the team. The staff is always saying thank you and even organizes volunteer-appreciation activities to let us know how much they appreciate us and what we have done for the organization. The trainers are highly experienced, honest, friendly, and easily accessible. They provide clear instructions and direction as to what they will be teaching and what they need us to do for them. If we have a question, all the staff is more then willing to take the time to answer it in detail and provide examples or recommend additional training materials. They even have a mentoring program where the volunteers help each other out.

If you have some time to give back to the community, I highly recommend volunteering for this organization.

Thank you Handi-Dogs, Inc. for all you do and for making a difference in so many peoples lives!

Handidogs has been such an amazing organization for both me and my Shetland Sheepdog. I became disabled after being a passenger in an accident. My sweet dog immediately took notice to the fact that I was "different" and started doing things for me naturally. I knew that I should help her help me by getting her formally trained. I started off training her with a trainer who used negative reinforcement as well as positive. It really negatively impacted my relationship with my dog and made her nervous to train. I am so glad that I found Handidogs shortly after because they use only positive reinforcement training and taught me the procedure behind clicker training so that I could use those tools to keep working with my dog everyday, even though I meet with the trainer once a week. My dog is so happy to help me and work and her anxieties have melted away. She is so comfortable and confident and is so proud to perform helpful tasks for me. Our relationship had really flourished and she is a happy dog! Handidogs also offers fun courses to enjoy with my dog as well aside from the formal training. My dog loves going to the Handidogs building because such good things go on there and the staff is so friendly and helpful.

Handidogs changed both our lives (my dog and my own) for the better and I'm very thankful for all their hard work and for all of the services they offer. They are so dedicated to the success of all dogs and humans and I'm very blessed to be able to work with them! Highly recommended!

Handi-Dogs is an outstanding organization. With excellent leadership and staff, they stay mission focused "Improving people's quality of life with a trained dog at their side". I'm proud to be Volunteer at their signature event Dogtoberfest. Over the years I have expanded my role from volunteer to vendor to sponsor. The addition of the Rescue to Service program has expanded the organization's reach and created collaborative community partnerships. If you're looking for an organization to get involved with and/or donate to Handi-Dogs is 5 Star!

I've been donating to Handi-Dogs for over 5 years. I always get a very timely thank you note for my donations - usually it is handwritten which means a lot to me. The stories they share of how the people's lives are changed by training a service dog are heart warming. I am inspired to continue supporting this wonderful organization.

I have had nothing but a wonderful experience with Handi-Dogs. They are extremely knowledgeable in all things Service Dog related. They have a fabulous staff that have been very kind and professional throughout our experience. I went through their Rescue to Service (RTS) program and it has far exceeded my expectations. In my opinion they are hands down the best organization to go through if you would like to get a service dog. I highly recommend Handi-Dogs!

Handi-dogs has a great mission and such friendly people helping and working towards the goal of helping people train their dogs to be a service dog. I have never been involved with a non-profit organization so well run and organized. Documentation and operations are top notch and run efficiently and effectively. Trainers are warm and friendly but knowledge and strong leaders. If you are a dog lover or want to help people this group has a mission that helps 2 legged and 4 legged friends.

Our 9yr old daughter is Type 1 diabetic, she falls dangerously low with her blood sugar levels while sleeping. We were referred to Handi-Dogs to look into diabetic alert dog training for new puppy. Our family and I are just crazy about Rama, our trainer at Handi-Dogs. She’s ABSOLUTELY wonderful, she has given us such amazing tools in our training and we’ve barely begun! Our experience with Rama and the company has defined Handi-Dogs as an elite business, they are so professional and knowledgeable, I can’t thank your organization, but in particular, Rama, we are so glad to have her teaching us!

My daughter is visually-impaired, and we began researching options for a service dog for her to take to college when she was young. Her vision loss is not severe and we wanted to be involved in the training, so Handi-dogs was the perfect solution. Handi-dogs advised us through the process of getting a dog and then trained our team to work together when her chocolate lab was ready. They are a highly proficient team, and they walked together to get a university diploma last May in Alaska! That's a LOT of airplane flights over 8 semesters! Now I'm a volunteer with the Rescue-to-Service program, and have fostered 2 wonderful dogs that have been placed with their person to become new teams. It is such a wonderful program and we get so much help and support from Handi-dogs personnel. They are part of a great organization that deserves generous support!

I have attended Handi-Dogs' basic and advanced obedience classes with three of my dogs. I have been a therapy dog team with two of these dogs and am now working on good doggie manners with the third and youngest dog. Classes are comfortable, supportive and affordable, and employ positive-training methods that help strengthen our relationship with our dogs.

When my youngest dog and I started the basic obedience class, he could not sit still and wanted only to meet all the other dogs - he let us know that with a lot of whining and barking. Now when we go to class, we can walk calmly to our place, where he settles himself in quickly on his mat. He has a sweet disposition and is a quick learner. Once we master the basic and advanced obedience classes, we aspire to attend graduate school at Handi-Dogs' therapy dog preparation class. Thanks, Handi-Dogs!

After adopting a rather shy rescue dog, we began training for basic obedience by attending the drop-in Pet Dog classes. The small group training has really helped our pup to develop a greater confidence and has enabled us to build a strong relationship with her. The interactions with the trainers and volunteers have allowed her sweet and loving personality to blossom. We now attend the drop-in Therapy Dog classes. The trainers, volunteers and staff have been wonderful. They are friendly, knowledgeable and patient and offer helpful suggestions tailored to each specific dog's needs. The indoor training facility is a blessing in our hot summers. Great organization and a real service to the community.

I recently had the pleasure of attending a graduation at Handi-Dogs. I was so impressed to hear each graduate's story and it only reaffirmed my commitment to the organization. To hear firsthand the beneficial impact of dogs and individuals working together to improve one's quality of life, as well as save lives, had me in awe. Also, the obvious bond between each demonstrated their was mutual regard and love. One of the stories shared at the event was about an Akita who was trained to alert his owner of diabetic alerts. Truly life saving.

Our Service dog - Pogo - and I have been working with Handi-Dogs for almost three years. Pogo is an 8 or 9 year old ChiWeenie. Handi-Dogs, helped us turn Pogo from a nervous dog, into a happy confident helper for my husband who has Parkinson's. Pogo is not large enough to help Bob stand up after he falls, but Pogo always alerts me (day or night) and she is always the first at Bob's side.
Handi-Dogs was wonderful at helping me to train Pogo - both in the class room and then later at our house. i continue to go back - even after she was certified as a service dog - as Handi-Dogs has useful sessions about service dogs being in public. The individuals that work ans volunteer at Handi-Dogs are all above expectations.

I have attended the Drop-In Pet Dog class and also the Drop-In Therapy Dog class. The trainers and assistants are friendly, patient AND knowledgeable. They train using positive reinforcement. The training is customized to fit you and your dogs needs. If you want a well behaved dog, this is a great place to train. The classes are reasonably priced and the staff is very dedicated to helping you attain your goal.

Recently heard a presentation made by a member of the organization. She did an amazing job explaining to our group the difference between service, emotional-support and therapy dogs. Never realized that each type of dog has different roles and regulations as far as being able to take into public stores. Fascinating how dogs really can improve people's health and help them to live more independently. Was surprised to learn that they do these presentations free as part of their community education efforts. Nice work.

I have been donating to Handi-Dogs for 4 years. Unlike many nonprofits I have supported, I am always thanked quickly when I send a donation. I continue being impressed with all they do - not just training dogs to be service and therapy dogs, but all their community education and outreach efforts as well.

As a hearing impaired individual my owner is unable to process many sounds. Wisely, she realized that with professional training, she and I could develop an assistive partnership whereby I could alert her to many of those missed signals. Together we enrolled in Handi-Dogs service animal training program, and under the watchful eyes of the instructors I became skilled at executing one and two way sound alerts. She became skilled at delivering the reward treats in a timely manner… As a certified service dog team we continue to strengthen our partnership by volunteering for and donating to this very worthwhile organization. I can't imagine a better place to be.

I loved Handi_Dogs, and we miss them every day! This company was great to volunteer for, and we would gladly do it again!

I loved volunteering for Handi-dogs, and I miss them since we moved. They are a great company with great people!

I trained my Yellow Labrador Retriever, Luna, through the program at Handi-Dogs. She received certification in one year and has been an invaluable companion and aide to me ever since. The trainers were experienced, very friendly, and easily accessible when I had questions or needed help. I know that if Luna (or I!) need additional training, they'll be there to help me. Service dogs can improve life for so many people who don't realize the value the dogs can offer. Getting the word out to those who can be helped is a real mission of mine, and of Handi-Dogs.

I have been a professional animal trainer for over 20 years. My father has Parkinson's, so it is a topic close to my heart. I recently approached Handi-Dogs about assisting in the training of my Great Pyrenees to be a service dog for my dad. They were very receptive and set up a meeting right away. We were able to discuss the specific needs associated with Parkinson's that would make this training slightly different than a mobility dog. Together, we were able to develop a successful training plan that has worked wonderfully for my dad. The staff at Handi-Dogs are professional, courteous, caring, and most of all, passionate about the success of people and their dogs.

My Golden Retriever and I have been going to the drop-in classes at Handi-Dogs for several weeks, so we could practice the skills we need to be re-certified as a therapy team. I found the trainers and other staff members to be very knowledgeable and skilled in working with dogs, and they were wonderful in helping me refine my handling skills. After watching my dog and me interact, the trainers tailored the practice session to meet our specific needs.

Everyone at the facility was warm, welcoming, and enthusiastic about their role at Handi-Dogs. I would highly recommend the classes and other offerings to anyone with a pet companion they want to build a stronger relationship with.

When I adopted my current canine companion 9 years ago, I knew immediately that he was meant to serve as a therapy dog. I went to Handi-Dogs for our initial training and I have been a fan, donor, and participant in various activities ever since. Handi-dogs provides a variety of great services for our community from a venue for Therapy animal team training to training for assistive dogs. I am continuously impressed by the work they do.

My poodle and I are a therapy team, visiting libraries and nursing homes. Handi-Dogs has provided great activities and training for me and my dog, especially during these hot summer months when training outside is no fun. I really appreciate the dedication of the folks working and volunteering at Handi-Dogs for all they do to help people with disabilities and for teams like Sherry and me so we can do our job better.

Loved the folks at Handi-dogs. They are very helpful, understanding and knowledgable. My husband and I decided to train our dog to be a diabetic alert dog as well as help us with some of our other disabilities. They were great in helping us do that. They also were patient and understanding that some of my husbands disabilities met that he didn't always understand direction. They always managed to find a way to communicate and get their point across. All the training is positive treat based training. No shock collars, no shoking the dog. My dog Darcey still loves to come for a visit.

My experience with Handi-Dogs has been both educational and rewarding. Until recently, I was not aware of the numerous training and learning opportunities available to the public. Their programs are credible and valuable, and are based on established standards of practice. The commitment by the leadership and staff is authentic, and the willingness to collaborate with other organizations to help more people and animals in our community is very impressive. I strongly recommend Handi-Dogs for anyone who can benefit from a certified Service and/or Therapy Dog.

Handi-Dogs is an excellent place to seek training for a service dog (a dog that fills a need for one person with a disability/disabilities or for a person to come with their dog and become a Therapy Team (one dog serving many through hospital visits, nursing homes, universities, etc). By helping individuals they are helping communities. Financial grants to offset tuition are available to help those in need.

My adult child suffers from PTSD and anxiety disorder. Handi-dogs has made all the difference in her and our family's lives. Before getting a dog to train to become her service dog, our daughter rarely left the house, let alone her bedroom. Initially we began the training but she slowly began to take it over and as she did she got out of the house more and more. She was initially quite fearful of the public and ironically her dog was also a bit fearful of people and noises. At first we were not sure that the dog was going to succeed but our daughter began trying to help her dog and this also helped our daughter get over her fears. Thankfully both our daughter and her dog have gotten braver and braver and are a wonderful team. The confidence that the dog has given her has allowed her to get out on her own (previously she would only leave the house with my husband or me), which in turn has allowed her to get to treatment and out to exercise and be in public. It has given her, her freedom and greatly improved our family situation as she is no longer completely dependent on us. I would definitely recommend Handi-dogs to other people and am now volunteering to hope get the word out to other individuals and families in need.

Handi Dogs make such a difference for any one with a disability. the dogs are trained to do amazing things for their owners making the quality of life for that individual significantly better. A fantastic organization doing fantastic things!

Handi-Dogs trains an owner and the owners own dog to provide a service dog function specific to that individual's need, whether hearing impaired, diabetic or physically handicapped. The trainers are professional and compassionate. The organization is very professionally run and sets metrics for providing services and maintaining the service dog's certifications year after year. It is financially strong and has an involved board in addition to the staff and trainers. HD trains up to 20 dogs in a year and has added training for therapy dog certification and provides pet dog training for seniors who just need a well trained pet. I have been donating to this organization for over 5 years and feel my funds have been well used.

I was introduced to this organization in 2003 when, following my cochlear implant surgery, I discovered that I had lost residual hearing in my implanted ear. I could hear nothing when I took my implant processor and hearing aid off, while going to bed, and my wife needed my help at night. Handi-dogs then helped me choose a dog, Rover, at Pima Animal Care Center and helped me train him over the next two years. They tested both of us and, when we passed the tests as a team, certified us as Hearing Ear Service Dog Team (ID# 196).
Rover is now 11 years old and has been tested and re-certified a few times. The last one was in 2012 and the certification is good through April 2015. Rover has been indispensable to my well being. He is with me 24/7 and travels with me on vacations and trips as far as Hawaii. I count on him to alert me to smoke alarms at home and in hotels/motels while I travel. This is especially important because I do not hear smoke alarms at night. Rover also alerts me to someone calling my name and takes me to that person when I say "Show Me". And then he does other things for me like picking up my keys when I drop them but don't hear, alerts me to doorbell and/or door knock, and so on.
Handi-dogs is one of my favorite non-profit. It is recognized as a Charity that helps low income people and donations to it, up to $200/individual/year, qualify as a Tax Credit on Arizona Income Tax Return. I personally donate at least that much to Handi-dogs every year. My Service Dog Rover and I have given demos at schools for Handi-dogs and still help out the trainers when requested to do so.

Handi-Dogs is truly one of the greatest non-profits there is. This organization works with seniors and people with disabilities to assist them in training their own service animals. What a concept! A service animal can be $10,000 to $20,000 and Handi-Dogs, working with owner trained, produces service animals at a fraction of the cost. This makes the ability of obtaining a service animal within the reach of almost anyone.

Now, I have only spoken about service animals. The organization provides training on several levels leading up to service animal. This includes therapy dogs and even pet dogs to give seniors and people with disabilities a well behaved companion.

The staff at Handi-Dogs are all friendly and supportive. They are great advocates for seniors and people with disabilities. It is a well run organization with high quality and competent dedicated staff.

I can't say enough good about Handi-Dogs. I have donated to the organization now for several years and will continue to support them in the future.

Handi-dogs have earned the place of our favorite non-profit. It was founded in 1973 and we have been supporters since 2000. We have enjoyed seeing them grow and move into their current facility. Handi-dogs mission “To promote independence, freedom, health, & dignity for seniors & people with disabilities through the use of trained dogs.” That is exactly what they do but they do so much more. They enrich the lives of people with disabilities but also the lives of the dogs they team with. While doing this they enrich the lives of the volunteers, supporters and the community as a whole. They teach responsible pet etiquette. They make clearer the language extending from both ends of the leash but always in a clear, consistent caring way. They offer classes and events for the general public as well as those needing service dogs or those interested in working with a therapy dog. We first became interested in Handi-dogs because we could help dogs and people at the same time while helping a local non-profit. We continued to support them because they don’t push like most non-profits for the bottom line but are open to whatever anyone has to offer whether it is donations, time or mere interest. We have been invited to see more of what they do and were very impressed especially in how graciously they allow you into their Handi-dogs family. Handi-dogs keep it simple, informative and dog friendly. We look forwarded to our continued role of supporters also as time and circumstance allows volunteer work and possible service or therapy work in the future.
Paws UP, Cliff and Desiree Prater Tucson, AZ

I had always wanted to do therapy work as a team with my dog. I wanted to know what was needed and if my dog and I were a good fit together for this. I heard about Handi-Dogs and went to their drop-in therapy dog classes. The instructor was very knowledgeable and helpful. The classes really helped me know what to expect for testing and the real world. We have been a therapy team for two years and I plan on going to a class or two to refresh my dog and myself before our renewel this year. Also, I got a 7 year old rescue last year and she and I are going to classes at Handi-Dogs so we can be a therapy team.

I feel so strongly about Handi-Dogs and it's mission that I also donate to help them serve others.

As president of Project Pets- Spay, Neuter, Love I have been involved in many adoptions. One of our favorite stories is about 2 females who were going to die the day we took them out of Robeson. Today, after special training like they offer at Handi-Dogs, , they are both working with 8-12 year old autistic kids in a school. Handi Dogs is doing the right thing for the people and for those dogs. It is a wonderful project and I hope to see them grow bigger and help more. Service dogs are happy dogs with a real job. Thanks to Handi-Dogs and other like them, we will have a lot more teams of happy partners all over the country !!

I have had the pleasure of volunteering at Handi-Dogs over the past year. The staff is outstanding and every one works well together. I have also been able to meet some awesome teams of students and their dogs. They are very dedicated in helping the teams meet their goals. They have been able to help so many people and provide information to the public regarding service dogs and other issues students may encounter. I highly recommend Handi-Dogs as a positive force in our community.

I was introduced to Handi-Dogs in 2012. Their work with military veterans returning from service with disabilities is what captured my attention. Since then, I've been impressed by how they help these women and men train their dogs to be their service dogs ~ utilizing only positive training methods. Once trained, these dedicated dogs help their veterans; who now face challenges of PTSD, mobility and/or hearing loss, re-capture their dignity and ability to live productive, independent lives as they had done before their disability. MOST INTERESTING is how the process of the veteran being actively engaged in their dogs' training is in itself part of their healing process. SEMPER FI!

Handi-dogs provides a unique service in our community--helping seniors and people with disabilities train their own service dogs. If a family pet has a suitable temperament and size, it is sometimes possible to train the dog that is already living in the home. It is not short process but it is quite affordable and the rewards are huge for the person--and the dogs seem to thrive doing the work as well! One of my family members in another state desparately needs a diabetic alert dog. We have discovered there simply are no services like Handi-dogs there. Their only option is very expensive with a very long wait--if it can be achieved at all. Our community is very lucky to have this energetic, dynamic organization at our doorstep for those in need.

In today’s world mental illness has become the dirty little secret. However as in our son’s case Handi-Dogs is helping to reclaim daily lives. Once unable to be in public for any great length of time (to shop, a restaurant, appointments, or even a family get together), Handi-Dogs has given him a new lease on life. Handi-Dogs helped our son train his dog to be a service dog; while at the same time helped retrain our son to communicate with other people. Thru Handi-Dogs our son has gone from semi-recluse to guest speaking and volunteer training at Handi-Dogs. I will always be grateful for all the help and support they have shown us.