Provides assistance dogs to people with developmental or physical disabilities who can demonstrate that a Canine Companion will enhance their independence or quality of life. Service dogs can assist with daily tasks and help increase independence by reducing reliance on other people. Service dogs may help with every day tasks such as turning on the lights, pick up dropped keys, open a door, pull partners in a manual wheelchair, push buttons on elevators, and many more. Provides service dogs, skilled companion dogs, facility dogs, and hearing dogs

Facilitates human-canine bond to enhance the lives of others through the process of training assistance dogs. Primarily focuses on training service dogs for people with physical mobility disabilities. Also trains dogs as Diabetic Alert dogs, Home Help-mate dogs, and Facility/Animal Assisted Therapy dogs on a case-by-case basis.

- Provides sponsorship of eye and hearing clinic at University of Minnesota - Provides assistance for persons needing help with vision, hearing and problems related to diabetes. Primary assistance is related to vision problems such as school age children needing eye exams and glasses - May provide help to get leader dogs - Committee will screen all persons asking for assistance to be sure they are not eligible for assistance from Itasca County Human Services or other agencies. They provide assistance on a financial need basis - Lions collect used eyewear at several locations in Grand Rapids including Norwest Bank, Miners Market, Grand Rapids State Bank and Reed Drug

Fully trained Assistance Dogs are also placed with veterans with a hearing or mobility related disease or injury. The dogs are trained to be a "second set of eyes" looking around corners and through doorways, providing a buffer in public settings, and being a tactile stimulus to keep their owner grounded in tense situations. Support Dogs has established a scholarship fund specifically for veterans called the DAVID Fund which helps with the application fee and equipment costs.

Provides service animals to children with disabilities; adults with Alzheimer's, hearing disabilities, and Type 1 Diabetes; and veterans with hearing or mobility loss resulting from combat - Dogs provide companionship and promote independent living - Agency specializes in placement with people who are turned away by other agencies - Mobility assistance dogs, Alzheimer's assistance dogs, seizure assistance dogs, hearing ear/signal dogs, autism assistance dogs, FASD/DE assistance dogs, diabetic alert dogs, facilitated guide dogs, and multipurpose dogs

Providing service dogs to veterans that can assist with psychiatric needs Dogs are trained in personalized manners to help with issues such as: - Reminding veteran to take medication - Interrupting harmful behavior - Leading away from stressful situations - Getting help when necessary - Waking from night terrors - Interrupting panic attacks - "Clearing" a room or apartment - Maintaining a veteran's personal space

Offers trained signal dogs for adults with hearing loss; signal dogs can alert the individual to sounds in the environment as well as providing comfort and confidence to the individual

Offers trained service dogs to assist adults and children with physical disabilities including: - Multiple sclerosis - Rheumatoid arthritis - Cerebral palsy - Stroke - Parkinson's disease - Other mobility-related disabilities These dogs are trained to open doors, retrieve objects, help with undressing, carry bags, and rise up to counters

Assistance dogs trained by Can Do Canines include: - Autism assist dogs providing safety for children with autism - Hearing assist dogs alerting deaf or hard-of-hearing persons by making physical contact and leading the person to the source of the sound - Mobility assist dogs trained to pick up and carry objects, retrieve a cordless phone, open doors, and perform other daily tasks for persons with physical disabilities - Diabetes assist dogs trained to smell the client's breath to check and alert for extreme blood sugar levels and to retrieve medication or food for persons with Type 1 Diabetes - Seizure assist dogs trained to perform tasks for people with seizure disorders such as carrying medication and medical alert information, retrieving a phone, and help bringing them out of a seizure by licking their face

Program matches a person with a physical disability or a veteran with PTSD with a highly trained service dog