Boots & Paws
Boots & Paws is a canine program that provides companion & service dogs to guardians in need.
Researchers have accumulated a growing body of evidence supporting the powerful therapeutic effects of animal ownership. Ownership of a dog brings purpose and passion into an owner's life and demands elevated responsibilities and mutually beneficial companionship.
Service Dogs also have the ability to work and perform tasks in order to assist individuals in need, including retrieving medicine, opening/closing doors, and responding to emotional cues/reactions from their owner, for example.
Companion Dog
Service Dog
service Dogs
We breed, raise, and professionally train service dogs for Guardians in need. A service animal refers to any dog who’s individually trained to do work or perform at least three tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, or other mental disability.
We offer two unique service dog options: qualified guardians can be placed with a puppy at three months old, allowing them to participate in training their own service dog under the direction of our professional canine trainers; we also offer fully trained service dogs that are placed with the guardian under a 14-day training and integration period. Each dog is individually trained to meet the needs and specific circumstances of its owner.
All dogs graduate at 18 months of age after having met or exceeded the Assistance Dogs International (ADI) training standards, as well as successfully passing the Public Access Test (PAT).
Our Dogs
Our Team brings with them over 50 years of breeding and training experience in the service and working dog industry, to include the training, finishing, and placement of over 100 service dogs. We use a combination of dogs for our service dog program, including Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and Goldadors.
All dogs selected for our breeding program must pass genetic testing specific to their breed and be cleared of any orthopedic defects, including hips and elbows. Every breeding dog is a fully trained service dog and has passed the ADI public access test. In choosing only the best dogs from our program to breed we can ensure the intelligence, health, temperament and trainability of the dogs we produce. This level of excellence allows us to have a 90% success rate on average for our placements, this means fewer dogs being dropped and less wait times for our guardians in need.
Companion Dogs
Our companion dog option is for guardians looking for the benefits of animal ownership and companionship. Companion dogs are awarded along with a care package, which includes professional training sessions, veterinary coverage, pet insurance, food, toys, leashes, and other essential care equipment for up to a year.
Scientific research supports the therapeutic benefits of dog ownership. The simple act of petting a dog lowers your heart rate and cortisol levels. Companion dogs can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and feeling of loneliness.
The responsibilities of caring for a dog can benefit both physical and mental health tremendously by increasing physical activity and social interaction. The emotional support that a companion dog offers helps our guardians overcome challenging situations that might otherwise compromise their quality of life.
Perfect Companions
Boots & Paws sources its companion dogs via two primary ways.
We have a longstanding partnership with Von Wolfenfels K9, a veteran owned & operated breeding & training company with over 30 years of experience in the working dog industry.
We also maintain our own separate breeding lines for companion dogs, and are capable of repurposing service dogs in training who are better fit as a companion dogs.
Interested in fostering or being a weekend handler?
Interested in sponsoring a dog?
Boots & Paws Recipients
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