About Our Dogs

The Assistance Dog Institute is devoted to "Helping Dogs Help People". After years of research we've identified that the breeds of dogs most suited to Service Dog work are Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers.

By having our own breeding program, we are able to produce dogs whose temperament and physical characteristics make them ideal Service Dog candidates.

All dogs begin their training as Service Dogs as early as three weeks old. During the training process, some dogs are identified for "career changes" to graduate as Social/Therapy Dogs or Facility Dogs.

In some cases, we provide dogs to other Assistance Dog programs. One example is Assistance Dogs of the West who purchased three of our pups to train for their program. Another is our dog Vanna who graduated from the San Francisco SPCA hearing Dog Program. See our Dog Success Stories >>

News: "Y" Puppies!

Our "Y" pups were born October 16, 2009. Their Labrador Retriever mother is Beauty. Jasper, the dad, is also known as Champion Gaetacreek Joyful Jasper. In the "Y" litter there are 5 females (3 black and 2 yellow) and 4 males (2 black and 2 yellow)...all very healthy and cute!

The puppies love to be petted by trained volunteers. Stop by and give them a hug!