PawPADs - YES!

Project YES!

Youth Empowerment Services

At the core of our organization is the belief that working with dogs can provide a therapeutic and life-enhancing experience.

We are excited to offer an innovative program suitably named "Project YES!", which reflects our positive training methods as well as our ultimate goals which are to help "youth-at-risk" and individuals with disabilities share in the challenges of facing our world today.

As the youth learn to train service dogs they have the opportunity to develop skills such as emotional and social competence, leadership skills, increased levels of responsibility, empathy and parenting techniques. Equally important, the youth experience unconditional love and the power of giving back to their community. Project YES! has been modeled after the successful High Schooled Assistance Dog Program developed by Dr. Bonnie Bergen of the Assistance Dog Institute.

While designed with youth in mind, the program has the potential to be equally powerful in adult correctional facilities as well.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." - Mahatma Gandhi

Making a PawPADs Difference:

Innovative Training Programs. Programs designed to create powerful, life-enhancing experiences through working with dogs - as the very act of working with, being around and training these dogs can be therapeutic and life-altering in profound ways.

Positive Training Methods. PawPADS uses only positive reinforcement to shape behaviors into tasks useful to human partners.

Animal Rescue. Our commitment is to train one rescue dog for every dog bred for our programs. These rescue dogs may be trained as Diabetic Alert Dogs, Home helpmates, and/or working as hearing dogs. There's a job for every dog that trots out our doors...even if it is simply to be the best partner and family companion ever!

Accreditation. PawPADs is a candidate for membership in Assistance Dogs International (ADI)and has devoted a full-time volunteer to completeing this important accreditation. ADI, a non-profit organization, has, as it's purpose: improving the areas of training, placement, and utilization of Assistance Dogs, as well as staff and volunteer education.^*

Responsible Fiscal Accountability. As a federally registered 501 (C) (3) non-profit (EIN 510593176)and a State of Minnesota registered non-profit, transparency is a responsibility we take seriously. You can be assured every ounce of purpose is being "wrung" out of you donated dollar so that more goes to achieving our mission.

Environmental Preservation. From our dog waste disposal methods to repurposing items into other useful items to recycling dog food bags, PawPADs is committed to minimizing our impact on our fragile earth in every way we can.



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