Since 1979, Paws With A Cause has been enhancing the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. PAWS increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog Teams through education and advocacy.

PAWS National Headquarters is in Wayland, Michigan. PAWS has a network of Field Reps committed to providing services in dozens of states.

PAWS’ fundraising and management costs are at or below 18 percent, allowing 82 cents of each donor dollar to be used for program services.

Most of our dogs come from our strategic breeding program.

When PAWS began in 1979, we were training rescue dogs to be Assistance Dogs, but we no longer do this for several reasons:

The health, temperament, and trainability of rescue dogs can be difficult to predict because the origin of the dog is often unknown. Good health, temperament, and trainability are critical to becoming an Assistance Dog. The dog must have specific characteristics such as the motivation to work and desire to have a good relationship with humans, which are not always found in dogs from shelters. After years of working with dogs from shelters, we found the success rate of a dog becoming an Assistance Dog was only around 1 in 12. By using specific breeds with the characteristics needed for an Assistance Dog, the success rate has increased to 1 in 3 or 4. 

Rescue dogs can come with a multitude of unknown health issues, which can prevent or end the dog’s career as an Assistance Dog. An example of a rampant health issue in dogs is dysplasia, typically with hips or elbows. However, dysplasia cannot be fully diagnosed/recognized until the dog is at least 6, and sometimes not until they are 24, months old. PAWS would have to train a rescue puppy for six to 12 months, investing a great deal of resources into the training, to then find out the dog would be in pain and suffer as a working Assistance Dog later in life. With a breeding program, we have been able to drastically reduce or eliminate some health issues that our dogs could face, allowing them a higher probability of becoming an Assistance Dog and/or extending their career.  

The investment in training an Assistance Dog is estimated to be around $35,000 and takes about 2.5-3 years for a dog to complete training. It requires a massive amount of time and money to train an Assistance Dog and we must be mindful of our limited resources as a nonprofit. There are no medical insurance companies or government grants that cover this cost, so almost all the money comes from generous donors, and we take being stewards of their contributions very seriously.  

We also consider breeding dogs very seriously and take many precautions to maintain a conscientious breeding program, so as not to contribute to shelter populations. We spay/neuter each of our dogs before they leave for their final placement, carefully track puppies born in each litter, and meticulously consider each dogs lineage and each litters potential before breeding.  

Additionally, we are committed to a goal of 90% of the dogs we breed going into a working career. If a PAWS Dog is unable to become an Assistance Dog, it is the first priority to find them working careers as Facility Dogs that provide therapy to people in hospitals, schools, courtrooms, etc. After that, the second priority is for the dog to work with law enforcement or to serve Veterans. Becoming a pet is rare for a PAWS Dog and is not the intention of our program. 

Our goal is to provide healthy, well-trained, life-changing Assistance Dogs to people with disabilities, and we have found that the breeding program is the best way to accomplish this.

PAWS has built a wonderful breeding program, which has fulfilled our need for dogs. Therefore, we are unable to accept dog donations. To search for other assistance dog organizations that might take dog donations, please visit: assistancedogsinternational.org/

PAWS Dogs are raised until approximately 18 months old by volunteer Breeding Host Homes and Foster Puppy Raisers.

The application request form is open from January-March each year. There is a $25 fee to request an application which helps cover the cost of processing

PAWS trains Hearing Dogs, Service Dogs, Seizure Response Dogs and Service Dogs for Children with Autism. We do not train dogs to assist with PTSD, diabetes, blindness, psychiatric disabilities or emotional support (as a primary condition).

The sponsorship to breed, raise, train, place an Assistance Dog and provide ongoing team support exceeds $35,000. PAWS clients do not pay to receive their Assistance Dogs. There is no insurance or government funding available to sponsor Assistance Dogs. PAWS funding comes from individual donations nationwide.

We have placed more than 3,000 Assistance Dogs with clients nationwide.

We receive more than 1,000 Assistance Dog application requests each year.

PAWS tries to find another working career for them whenever possible. Some dogs that have been purposefully placed from PAWS’ program have become Facility Dogs, or working dogs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, police departments, Detection Dogs, Leader Dogs for the Blind and Crisis Response Dogs. If the dog is not suitable for any other career, it will be placed as a pet.