Facts and Stats About paws4people

paws4people is dedicated to being a leading Assistance Dog organization, elevating the standards for training Assistance Dogs and their clients. See below for some facts about paws4people that show how we are using our Assistance Dogs to transform lives.

The Foundation

paws4people was founded in 1999.
paws4people is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina..
paws4people has 26 paid and unpaid staff members.
paws4people has approximately 150 Dogs In-Training and in our Breeding Program.
paws4people does not use a “puppy raiser model.” Instead, our Puppies live in Puppy Development Centers (Wilmington, NC, Mid-Atlantic Region, and New York) and participate in our Puppy Host Family Program!
Dogs In-Training are part of the paws4prisons Program and the UNCW/paws4people Assistance Dog Training Program (UNCW/p4p ADTP). Dogs In-Training live with their inmate trainers and student trainers.
paws4people is a full member of Assistance Dogs International (ADI) and a full member of Animal Assisted Intervention International (AAII).
Over the last 5 years, we have spent an average of $0.965 of every dollar of Functional Expenses on Program Expenses. In 2017, paws4people surpassed the $1 million annual revenue mark for the second consecutive year!
paws4people’s revenue has a compound average growth rate of 175% over the last 7 years.

Our Programs

The paws4vets program began in 2008 and specializes in placing Assistance Dogs with Veterans, Service Members, and dependents of each.
paws4people also places customized Assistance Dogs for children, adolescents, and adults with life-altering physical, psychiatric, and behavioral disabilities.
paws4people places on average 40-50 Dogs each year.
Dogs are placed at no cost to the recipient.
The West Virginia Department of Corrections hosts our paws4prisons Program within 5 state correctional centers. Approximately 130 inmate trainers participate in the paws4prisons Program, teaching our Dogs basic and advanced obedience and a custom 100-command matrix.
Our paws4prisons Program celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016.
The UNCW/p4p ADTP is a 1st of its kind 4-course certificate program for academic credit.
The UNCW/p4p ADTP began in August 2011.
To date, over 1,000 students have completed UNCW/p4p ADTP course work, and more than 100 students have completed the certificate program and earned their paws4people
Assistance Dog Public Access Trainer certification.
During July 1, 2016 and June 1, 2017, UNCW/p4p ADTP students completed 78,446 training hours within the Wilmington community.
8 paws4people full-time and part-time staff are graduates of the UNCW/p4p ADTP.

Our Dogs

Our graduation rate from our Assistance Dog Training Program is 93%.
paws4people retains ownership of our Dogs for their working career. Dogs are placed with Clients and Handlers under a conditional custody contract.
During July 1, 2016 and June 1, 2017, paws4people placed 44 Assistance Dogs and 5 Facility Dogs. paws4people also placed 40 Emotional Support Dogs.
As of June 30, 2017, paws4people has a total of 587 Dog placements throughout 26 states and a province of Canada.
Each paws4people Psychiatric Medical Alert Assistance Dog has an average total cost of $63,641.25 at the time of placement.
Each paws4people Rehabilitative Facility Dog has an average total cost of $59,151.82 at the time of placement.
Dogs bred in our internal breeding program start training at 3 days old, before they can hear or see!
Dogs In-Training Bump at approximately 1 year old. A Bump is the process during which an Assistance Dog In-Training chooses a Client. paws4people does not match Dogs and Clients; instead, the Dogs do (with a little help from staff). That produces successful and lasting Teams.
All Assistance Dog-Client Teams are required to pass an annual paws4people Public Access Test in order to remain covered by paws4people’s general liability insurance policy.
All Facility Dog-Handler Teams are required to pass an annual paws4people Facility Observation Test in order to remain covered by paws4people’s general liability insurance policy.