Who We Help

When life leads you down an unexpected path, Duo Dogs offers more than a leash — we offer a lifeline — and the ability to experience life in a better way. Our Assistance, Facility, and Touch Therapy Dogs along with our Obedience and Paws for Reading programs enrich lives that facilitate a better you. Duo Dogs is committed to improving lives of our clients through its integrated programs and processes.

Mobility Assistance

Duo trains Service Dogs to assist those individuals with physical disabilities. Service Dogs can be placed with individuals with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, stroke, as well as other mobility-related disabilities. The dogs are trained to open doors, retrieve dropped and distant objects, help with undressing, carry bags, and rises to counters — just to name a few of the skills performed. The goal of these placements is to have the dog act as an extension of a person so that they can perform those tasks that may be difficult, or impossible, because of their disability.

If you are in need of a service dog, please fill out a prospective client inquiry form to begin the process.

If you would like to help provide service dogs at no cost to those with physical disabilities, please consider making a gift.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Duo places hearing dogs with individuals 18 years of age and older to act as a second set of ears for the person, while at home and out in the public. Hearing dogs can alert the individual to sounds in the environment, such as a doorbell ringing, a timer going off, someone knocking at the door, weather alarms, and even someone calling the individual’s name. Hearing dogs provide comfort and confidence to an individual so that they can be more independent and secure in the environments in which they frequent and reside.

If you are in need of a hearing dog, please fill out an prospective client inquiry form to begin the process.

If you would like to help provide hearing dogs at no cost to the Deaf and hard of hearing, please consider making a gift.

Veteran Assistance

American veterans face many challenges to overcome upon their return. Many must adapt to a disabled physical body and its full recovery, some suffer hearing losses of all degrees, many have unexpected financial burdens, and all face a new lifestyle of less independence. Their families and friends feel the non-physical burdens of their return as well.

To assist these brave men and women in resuming an independent lifestyle, Duo provides assistance dogs to veterans. The Disabled American Veterans Independence Dog (the DAVID) Fund helps with the application fee and equipment costs associated with a veteran receiving an assistance dog.

If you are in need of an Assistance Dog, please fill out an prospective client inquiry form to begin the process.

If you would like to help provide Assistance Dogs at no cost to our veterans, please consider prospective client inquiry form to the DAVID Fund.

Facilities Serving Special Needs

Through the years, it has been noted that the presence of a dog helps those with special needs or those who are part of at-risk populations. Duo trains and places Facility Dogs to help in these situations. The dogs are paired with a teacher, therapist, or employee of a facility that works with targeted populations and the dog is incorporated into the therapy of these individuals. Placements have included dogs working with economically and socially challenged children, dementia and Alzheimer’s patients, and learning disabled students.

If you are interested in a Facility Dog, please fill out an prospective client inquiry form to begin the process.

If you would like to help provide Facility Dogs at no cost to those who need them most, please consider making a gift.

Court Room Assistance

Duo has found dogs can be a calming force, especially when it comes to children. The Facility Dog program places dogs with therapists and adults who work with children who may have been mentally, physically, or sexually abused, to use as part of the forensic interview process. The Facility Dogs help to elicit testimony from the children that can be used to prosecute their perpetrators. In most placements, permission has been given so that the dogs can accompany the children to court in the event they have to testify. The dogs help to keep the child calm, grounded, and helps to keep the stories of what happened to the child confidential.

If you are in need of a Facility Dog, please fill out an prospective client inquiry form to begin the process.

If you would like to help provide courtroom dogs at no cost to those who need them most, please consider making a gift.

Facility Dogs (non TOUCH)

Duo Dogs’ uniquely-trained facility dogs do important community work that impacts people of all ages, all over the world. These amazing animals are placed with client organizations and provide support when it’s needed most.

In medical facilities, our dogs can sooth a young child as they’re facing an uncomfortable procedure or calm a patient who’s anxious about treatment. They work within the legal system to comfort victims during forensic interviews or even stay nearby when they testify in court. In school districts, these professional pups assist children with special needs as they learn to overcome barriers and become their best selves.

If you are in need of a Facility Dog, please fill out a prospective client inquiry form to begin the process. Note: Although specially trained and certified, Facility Dogs do not have public access and do not fall under the protection of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you would like to support Duo’s Facility Dog program, please consider making a gift.    

Healthcare Facilities

The Touch Therapy program certifies volunteers and their personal dogs to provide pet-visitation therapy services to a wide range of healthcare facilities in the St. Louis Metropolitan area, including hospice facilities.  

The goal of Touch Therapy visits is to provide an “escape” for the patient or resident from their current health situation. Touch dogs help to lower blood pressure, incentivize patients in their therapy, improve the mood of the patient or resident, and simply provide a happy time for conversation and tactile stimulation.

All Touch services are provided at no cost to facilities in the metropolitan area. As Duo Dogs’ most popular program, the Touch volunteers number close to 300 and visit over 100,000 patients, residents, facility staff, and families on an annual basis.

To get involved with this exciting program, please fill out our TOUCH Packet.

Students

The Paws for Reading program was established in 2002 and is present in elementary and middle schools throughout the St. Louis Metropolitan area, as well as in select city and county libraries in St. Louis. The program targets students ranging in grades from first through tenth, by providing a specially-trained canine in the classroom or reading session to help the student improve their focus and reading comprehension.

Duo Dogs has developed an incentive program in which children who read a specific number of books receive a special book of their choosing and a certificate signed by the Paws for Reading dog. The incentive program can stand alone or be used in conjunction with a current incentive program already being offered by the school.

All Paws for Reading services are provided at no cost to schools and to libraries. The goal of the program is to instill good reading habits early on in a child’s education so that they will experience success as they mature and grow within the education system.

If you are interested in starting a Paws for Reading program in your school, please contact Duo Dogs today.

Our Global Footprint

As of December 2019, Duo Dogs has proudly placed over 115 service dogs around the United States, Canada, and in the United Kingdom.

The numbers on the map below indicate the placement total in each geographic area.