Mission Statement
To Inspire Veterans Through Life-Changing Canine Partnerships.
Canines for Service (CFS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1996 and is the longest-running, internationally accredited service dog provider in North Carolina. Civilian and Veteran clients have included those with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, spinal cord injury, stroke, severe heart conditions, arthritis, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Within three years of its inception, CFS placed its first service dog, acquired training facility space, and began hiring full-time staff. In 2002, CFS started the Canines for Therapy (CFT) and Paws for Reading, now known as Canines for Literacy (CFL) programs. These initiatives offer dog owners the opportunity to become registered therapy and literacy teams to provide animal-assisted interventions in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, group homes, and treatment facilities.
The first Veteran to receive a CFS service dog was in 2008. Simultaneously, CFS began a national pilot program to train dogs through partnerships with military bases, including the Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and the Naval Consolidated Brig, located on Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, South Carolina.
Through a rigorous 5-year process, CFS received accreditation from Assistance Dogs International, the leading authority in the assistance dog industry, in 2012. CFS was the first organization in North Carolina to receive such an honor and maintains the qualification through a recertification process every two years.
Recognizing a significant need within the Veteran community, CFS shifted its focus to solely serving Veterans in 2018. CFS continues to provide service dogs at no cost or fundraising requirement to Veterans from all conflicts with service-connect PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, mobility challenges, and/or military sexual trauma. To date, CFS has provided over 100 service dogs across the United States, with more than half placed exclusively with Veterans.
