Canine Companions For Independence

Canine Companions provides expertly-trained service dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities, completely free of charge.

 Founded in 1975, Canine Companions pioneered the concept of training dogs to assist adults and children living with physical and developmental disabilities.

Because of the generous support of individuals and organizations like you and the Orange County Community Foundation, Canine Companions provides these services free of charge to the recipients. 

Canine Companions for Independence® is not only the oldest and largest organization of our kind, but we are also recognized worldwide as the one with the greatest expertise. Canine Companions is the first provider to be fully accredited by Assistance Dogs International, the organization that sets industry standards and oversees assistance dog agencies. Effective, quality services have earned Canine Companions its reputation as the leader and gold standard in the growing assistance dog industry.  

Canine Companions is comprised of six regional training centers throughout the United States. The Southwest Regional Center opened in 1986, is located in Oceanside, California and provides services to people in Southern California and the surrounding eight states. The Southwest Regional Training Center is self-supporting, and contributes to the breeding program and scientific research studies conducted at the national level.  

The service dogs we breed, raise and train aren’t just the ears, hands and legs of their human partners. They’re also goodwill ambassadors and often, their best friends. They open up new opportunities and new possibilities, and spread incredible joy. We unite people with dogs in a powerful program that leads to greater independence and confidence.

Each year, Canine Companions Southwest Regional Training Center staff are tasked with securing funding from various sources in order to continue providing our life-changing services free of charge to our clients. Our Training Center is completely self-sufficient and maintains an ongoing pipeline of fundraising events, partnerships, individual donations, and grant proposals to support our operations. It is because of the generosity of people like you, and organizations like Orange County Nonprofit Central that we can move our mission forward and continue matching those in need with their very own service dog.

The estimated cost for each of our dogs is $50,000 from birth to retirement. You can help us by making a financial gift of any size, participating in one of our events, recommending us for a grant, introducing Canine Companions to a company or individual who doesn't know about us, and volunteering for our organization.

Canine Companion's Southwest Regional Center is located in Oceanside, California and provides services to people in Southern California and surrounding states. In Orange County alone, there are a total of 47 active graduate teams (clients & their service dogs) and five (5) candidates on the waiting list for their life-changing partner. 

From our 2021 Annual Report -

During the past year all of us again faced many challenges. But we also have witnessed the incredible impact of the strength and determination of so many people. This couldn’t be clearer than at Canine Companions where the loyal support and commitment of our community has not only helped us through these difficult times but also allowed us to continue to pursue our mission and the goals of our strategic plan. The great need for our expertly trained service dogs continues for people with disabilities, especially in these hard times. During 2021, we continued to empower people with disabilities to live with greater independence. With the commitment of our incredible staff and the support – both financial and otherwise – of our community nationwide, we were able to:
• Place 374 assistance dogs and serve 2,653 active teams.
• Hold 1,500 client follow-up meetings to ensure that our teams are functioning well.
• Reach an estimated 5.2 million people through our clients’ interaction with their family, friends and community in addition to the stories we are able to share with the world.

We also grew our mission in additional ways, broadening our impact:
• We expanded our PTSD and therapy dog programs.
• We continued to conduct research, often in partnership with universities, to determine ways in which we can improve the percentage of our dogs that can be successfully placed with clients
• We applied lessons learned during the pandemic which allowed us to develop virtual and hybrid approaches for our outreach efforts, events and follow-up programs.

Of course, all of this requires your support. Thanks to the generosity of so many people, we were able to raise over $43 million in support of our mission. Thanks to your unwavering commitment, we are entering 2022 strong and ready to pursue our goals. We are eager to take on the challenge of providing the best service dogs possible to the greatest number of people who need them.

Best regards,
Paige Mazzoni, Chief Executive Officer and John McKinney, National Board Chair

(You can view the most recent annual report at www.canine.org)