We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Happy Paws Happy Hearts (HPHH) to co-create The Connections Program.
Happy Paws Happy Hearts is a unique community promoting inclusion and happiness. They bring people and animals together to break down personal barriers and create space for change through fun, curated programs. They understand the power of the human-animal bond and have been harnessing this to make a significant and life changing impact for people who are excluded or marginalised in society.
Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) breeds, trains and places accredited assistance dogs with people who have a physical disability, severe PTSD or complex autism. Our remarkable dogs have a life changing impact on the person they support by empowering connection, promoting inclusion and fostering independence.
With ADA and HPHH joining forces we are able to utilise ADA puppies in HPHH programs whereby together we create a social inclusion hub for engagement and connection, that reduces social isolation and broadens the impact dogs make on individuals with disabilities.
Participants will engage in the program for 12 weeks, hosted at ADA’s innovative puppy kindergarten in Waterfall, NSW, where they will gain hands-on experience and play a vital role in preparing puppies for Advanced Training. The innovative Puppy Kindergarten has been informed by new evidence from Duke University, which reflects best practices in early canine development. This facility leverages cutting-edge research to address the critical developmental period for puppies, ensuring they gain the foundational skills needed to progress toward their future roles as Assistance Dogs.
Tim Taylor, Assistance Dogs Australia CEO, reflects on our partnership:
“We are excited to partner with Happy Paws Happy Hearts to deliver unique programs aimed at people with disabilities, especially those facing social isolation. This partnership is an important part of ADA’s transformation journey, increasing our impact and adding new ways to empower more individuals to build confidence, connection, and purpose through the power of the special human-dog bond. Happy Paws Happy Hearts is a wonderful organisation, closely aligned in values and purpose, and I believe our partnership will accelerate access to powerful programs for so many more people with disabilities, helping remove barriers to inclusion and connection with society which most of us take for granted.”
These puppies will go on to support deserving individuals with disabilities and the participants will gain transferable social skills and are supported on their journey of change from social isolation to social inclusion and wellbeing. Building from this, they will also experience a sense of greater independence, increased connections, confidence and hope for the future, often culminating in volunteering, education, and/or employment.
The program benefits both participants and puppies and we are excited by the possibilities and the impact of the partnership, and we feel privileged to work on this together.
Expressions of interest in the program can be made here.