Assistance Dogs are trained to provide assistance to both children and adults with disabilities or limitations including mobility problems, hearing loss, seizures or other health issues. These dogs perform everyday tasks from picking up dropped items, opening doors, cabinets, and turning on light switches to pulling wheelchairs or responding to a baby’s cry, a call for help, door bell, smoke alarm and other sounds.

Assistance dogs are with their owners 24/7 and go every place they go. They learn to watchfully anticipate whatever their human needs through an almost telepathic communication.

Assistance Dogs are donated as puppies to New Leash by Oklahoma breeders. The parents must be OFA certified and the pups are tested for the proper temperament.  Labrador and Golden Retrievers are, basically, the breeds we work with because of their natural retrieving ability and their size, which is necessary to pull wheelchairs and help stabilize people who use them to move from a wheel chair to a chair or other location.

Occasionally we will help a person with disabilities train their own dog.  The application process is the same and the dog must meet our criteria.