National Service Dogs is a 2-star rated, financially transparent charity with Low demonstrated impact. The charity has an above average results reporting grade and its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range. National Service Dogs has $727k in reserve funds, which can cover 11 months of program costs.

Founded in 1998, National Service Dogs (NSD) provides fully-trained service and companion dogs primarily to individuals with disabilities. NSD works out of Cambridge, Ontario and aims to help people achieve their full potential through the support of service dogs. The charity trains and pairs dogs with people in need through four programs: Certified Service Dogs for Autism, Certified Service Dogs for PTSD, Canine Assisted Intervention, and Companion Dogs. All dogs are provided to eligible clients at no cost.

In F2022, NSD served 150 people, and vetted/trained 81 dogs. The charity also had 41 new puppies enter its training program. National Service Dogs benefited from 314 volunteers contributing 322,229 hours of work.

The charity does not disclose how much it spends on each of its programs.

Certified Service Dogs for Autism are typically Labradors and Golden Retrievers trained specifically for children living with Autism. These dogs work to improve the quality of life of autistic children and their caretakers by increasing their safety and helping to suppress behavioural outbursts.

Certified Service Dogs for PTSD are provided to Canadian veterans and first responders living with long-term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. The charity reports that one in four Canadian veteran suffer from PTSD. These service dogs help ground their owners in reality and encourage physical activity.

Canine Assisted Intervention dogs work with professional therapy teams that address health and wellness in areas such as trauma, or addiction.

Companion Dogs are for children who are under the age of 18 and living with various disabilities. National Service Dogs reports that in 2017, 6.3 million Canadians aged 15 or older had been diagnosed with a disability, making it hard for them to find independence, security and social acceptance. Companion dogs are not certified for public access and receive no special training other than in basic obedience. They provide companionship, decrease stress, and encourage their owner to exercise.

NSD reports that it places over 83% of its dogs with clients, while the dogs determined to be unfit for its programs become pets available for purchase under the charity's Very Important Pet service.

National Service Dogs is a financially transparent charity. Its audited financial statements are publicly available on its website.

National Service Dogs received donations and special events revenues of $1.3m in F2022. The charity received $41k in donated goods in kind and $16k in fees from clients. Administrative costs are 14% of total revenues and fundraising costs are 13% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, 73 cents are available for programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

National Service Dogs’ reserve funds of $727k can cover 11 months of annual program costs.

National Service Dogs paid external fundraisers $23k in F2022 to raise $258k for a cost of 9 cents per dollar raised.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to National Service Dogs for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 21, 2023 by Victoria Allder.