paws4people foundation was founded by Kyria Henry in 1999, when she was just 12 years old, with the purpose of using dogs as a means of helping people.
This nonprofit’s mission is educating and empowering people to utilize Assistance Dogs to transform their lives.
We have 500 highly trained Assistance Dogs with one or more certifications providing support in areas such as mobility and psychiatric service, educational and rehabilitative assistance, and therapeutic visitation. Together, these dogs have made more than 1,000,000 therapeutic contacts.
Presently, we specialize in training customized Assistance Dogs for two general groups: children and adolescents with physical, neurological, psychiatric, and/or emotional disabilities; and Veterans and Service Members with Chronic/Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma.
Over the last 20 years, our organization has placed Dogs in 25 states, with nationwide placement consideration.
Although most people today are aware of the benefits of service dogs for the blind or people with mobility impairments, there are many newer and unique applications using Assistance Dogs with which people are still unfamiliar – such as a Physical and/or Neurological Assistance Dog.
At paws4people foundation, our philosophy is that children and adolescents with disabilities can and should be considered clients and be taught how to utilize an Assistance Dog to mitigate the effects of their disability. In these instances, proper training and employment of an Assistance Dog may allow a child to independently perform tasks that are standard for his or her peers. Over time, this negates the necessity of over-dependence on adults and aids, thus allowing the child to grow and mature more independently. We believe this is the very essence of independence, and one of the most important roles of an Assistance Dog.
In addition to the paws4people program, our paws4vets program specializes in placing Psychiatric Medical Alert Assistance Dogs with Veterans and Service Members who are living with PTSD, TBI, and/or MST.
Many recipients have “invisible disabilities” so that their use of an Assistance Dog and access to public venues is questioned more readily than a handler whose disability is visible. Therefore, we feel it is important for people to recognize and understand that these dogs, when employed correctly and within the confines of the law, are providing invaluable services to their users by assisting them in their recovery and return to their previous lifestyles. This is yet another example of priceless, well-deserved independence.