4 Paws Celebrates 26 Years of Service during 2024 International Assistance Dog Week

“Our pediatrician called us out of the blue one day and said ‘We were thinking about Tyler and we think he would be a great candidate for a service dog.’ Our goal with Tyler is to help him master his anxiety so his world is as big as he wants it to be.”

-Mother of Tyler & Bolt, 4 Paws Service Dog Team

Every August International Assistance Dog Week recognizes the amazing assistance dogs who transform lives with their dedication, skill, and unconditional love. These incredible dogs provide invaluable support to individuals with disabilities, enhancing their independence and quality of life.

Why is it important? 4 Paws for Ability trains our dogs to perform a wide range of tasks, from helping handicapped individuals navigating the world, alerting to seizures, and providing life-saving tracking ability for children with autism. They not only offer practical aid but also emotional support, fostering greater confidence and social connection.

To celebrate International Assistance Dog Week, there are a few ways you can show your support:

If you are a family looking for support or a brighter future with a 4 Paws service dog, we hope you click one of the links below to see if we can help!

>Learn about our Service Dogs

>Frequently Asked Questions

>Apply for a Service Dog

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2024-08-13

4 Paws Veterinary Department Adds X-Ray Machine Through Research Grant

Since 1998 4 Paws for Ability has provided top-of-the-line service dogs, all uniquely trained to enrich the lives of nearly 2000 children and veterans with disabilities. As our community and organizations have supported our mission, we have been able to continue to set the standard of service dog training, placements, and veterinary care.

This past year 4 Paws was honored to be selected as a research partner for the Wounded Warrior Service Dog Project. This government project provided funding to organizations so they could assess criteria that may be used to place the most effective service dogs for veterans. 

This partnership gave 4 Paws the opportunity to acquire x-ray equipment to support our goal that each and every service dog in training has easy access to top-notch medical care. 

While 4 Paws has always provided top-level care to their dogs, Dr. Ruth Keller, DVM, says an on-campus x-ray machine saves money and saves time. “4 Paws has previously utilized our outside partner vet clinics to assist with needed x-rays for our dogs such as puppy count checks on pregnant dogs or breeder orthopedic evaluations which can cost several hundred dollars per dog. Now multiply that by 500 dogs!” Keller says. “Having a machine on-site provides a pure cost savings as the machine was paid for through the research grant. It also enables us to have more freedom when scheduling x-ray appointments instead of using an outside clinic.”

Before the x-ray machine could get into use, 4 Paws for Ability registered and passed inspections with the Ohio Department of Health, which also included radiation safety training for all 4 Paws staff. The preparation also included a “shielding evaluation” to ensure our facility was ready up to Ohio law when operating equipment in a manner that is safe for everyone involved.

“4 Paws is committed to serving children and veterans living with life-altering disabilities. The new x-ray machine enhances our ability to ensure that 4 Paws dogs continue to receive amazing medical care on their journey to become a service dog,” says 4 Paws for Ability Executive Director, Jennifer Lutes. “This advancement would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our extraordinary veterinary team. Dr Keller, Veterinary Medical Director, leads the team to even greater heights by expanding the services we are able to provide through our facility.”

“The response time to health concerns for dogs as well as the cost savings of having a vet department on-site are incredible,” Dr. Keller says. “I never could have imagined that an opportunity like this existed when I was in school. I am thankful every day to be a part of the dogs’ journey at 4 Paws.”

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2024-08-29

“The first moment was magic” | Lillie & Shadow’s Story

“The first moment was magic” | Lillie & Shadow’s Story

“The first moment was magic.”

When Lillie was going into fifth grade, life was her biggest unknown. “We had so many medical unknowns and were looking at so many limitations,” her mom Jessica remembers. “A friend of mine is a teacher and has had students with 4 Paws dogs in her class and told us firsthand the difference they made.”

In 2018, Lillie met Shadow in what was a truly magical moment. “He showed his personality right away and instantly laid next to Lillie. He already knew who his person was and acted like he had known her forever. It was like he was as happy to see us as we were him,” Jessica says.

“It was only the beginning.”

Living up to his name, Shadow has been by Lillie’s side and continues to help and celebrate every new milestone Lillie breaks.

“She no longer fears needles/medical procedures. She is independent and more confident. She would not be comfortable being on her own before him, which isn’t great for growing up. Taking care of him has helped her not focus on herself and her own challenges as much.”

Jessica says even her doctor takes Shadow’s behavior into account when making decisions because Shadow is so consistent with the seizure alerts.

“Once in the eighth grade she had a seizure in the bathroom and hit her head,” Jessica says. “Shadow laid on her until she realized something was wrong, then got up and went across the hall to retrieve the school counselor to help.”

Jessica says “We have countless stories and their bond has grown and he has developed new skills based on her needs, such as alerting to heart rate and blood sugar changes. Now she wears ankle foot orthoses and he can tether on her waist and she doesn’t need a cane. She lost her hearing, and he will even nudge her if he hears someone say her name over and over.”

Not only has Lillie grown closer to Shadow, but she’s also grown as a person. “We met Shadow in 2018, now, six years later, she is entering the eleventh grade, has won awards in our community for advocacy, takes honors classes, and is starting to consider where she is going for college.”

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2024-08-29

“We can’t imagine what life would be like without Nova” | Celebrating National Service Dog Month 2024

September is National Service Dog Month and 4 Paws for Ability is proud to continue our mission of placing service dogs with children and veterans with disabilities. This year, we’re set to surpass 2,000 service dogs placed, having touched communities in nearly all 50 states, as well as multiple international placements since 1998.

The month-long observance of these working dogs was created in 2008 by actor and animal advocate Dick Van Patten. Van Patten was inspired to start this initiative after visiting a guide dog training facility where he witnessed firsthand the incredible skills and support these dogs provide. 

National Service Dog Month not only recognizes the invaluable contributions of service dogs but also helps to promote the importance of training programs and the rights of service dog users.

For Heather and Chris, service dog Nova was the solution for their family, and has given their family “peace of mind” ever since.

“She is a constant companion for Megan and has helped her deal with situations we previously never would have attempted,” Megan’s mom Heather says. “We know that if we aren’t in the same room as Megan, Nova is listening and watching for seizure activity even when she looks like she’s asleep.”

4 Paws service dogs are all trained to uniquely serve each family and their unique situation. Our dogs can be trained to master a variety of tasks including tracking for children who may elope and need rescued, high & low blood sugar detection for kids with diabetes, and seizure alert for kids like Megan who are simply in need a safe night’s sleep.

“Nova has never missed a seizure which gives us so much comfort knowing Megan is safe. Megan’s confidence has grown exponentially because Nova gives her confidence.”

Nova’s tasks also include mobility assistance to aid in balance and excels in behavior disruption to de-escalate Megan’s most stressful moments. Heather says “Nothing calms Megan down faster than when Nova does an ‘over’ and in seconds, Megan is laughing again.”

Our mission is supported by our volunteers and staff who take a paws-on approach to our mission everyday, as well as our growing community of donor and monthly inVESTors, all contributing to the countless lives that are enriched with our service dogs.

“Our experience with 4 Paws has given us a level of freedom that we otherwise wouldn’t have like while we were grocery shopping and Megan got overwhelmed. Megan and Nova sat on the floor, Nova did an over, and Megan was able to continue to help shop for groceries,” Heather says.

“Supporting 4 Paws means that kids are matched with dogs that can literally save their lives, but also can make life more fulfilling. We can’t imagine what life would be like without Nova.”

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