Canine Companions

Founded on July 4, 1975, Canine Companions made history by creating the concept of what is now the modern-day service dog. We have celebrated many milestones over the past five decades, but our mission remains the same: To provide expertly trained service dogs to individuals with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals, free of charge.

We provide service dogs to adults, children and veterans with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals working in healthcare, criminal justice and education settings. Since our founding in 1975, we have placed more than 8,000 human/canine teams, and our dogs and all follow-up services are provided at no cost to our clients.  We currently support over 2,700 teams nationwide, including over 130 in the Sacramento Region.

This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of not only the founding of Canine Companions but the creation of the service dog concept itself, we are profoundly grateful for the community that has been our foundation along the way.  The demand for our service and facility dogs is real and growing. Currently, 24 people in the Sacramento Region have completed the application process and are waiting to be matched with a dog of their own.

Independence shouldn’t be limited to those who look or live a certain way. Disability reaches all races, classes and backgrounds.  Clients come to Canine Companions because of our reputation, the quality of our dogs, the experience of our training staff and the desire to lead life with greater independence. We are committed to providing services to all qualified clients. 

Canine Companions service dogs are trained in more 45 tasks to support clients impacted by over 65 different types of disabilities including: 

• Adults with physical, auditory or cognitive disabilities 
• Children with physical or cognitive disabilities
• Veterans with a physical or auditory disability or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
• Professionals working in a health care, visitation, criminal justice or education setting.