Can Do Canines
Our dogs fetch amazing things!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We are working to eliminate the waiting list for people living with disabilities or children with autism who need and want an assistance dog.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Can Do Canines Assistance Dog Program
Can Do Canines serves individuals who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, physically disabled, living with a seizure disorder, diabetes with hypoglycemic unawareness, and children with autism, pairing them with dogs specially trained to alert them to important sounds or assist them in the activities of daily living. The assistance dogs are provided free of charge because very few of the clients served can afford the average cost of a dog, which is about $45,000. Assistance dogs can help by retrieving objects that are out of their partner's reach, pulling wheelchairs, opening and closing doors, turning light switches off and on, barking to indicate that help is needed, finding another person to help, assisting a person to walk by providing balance and counterbalance, and many other individual tasks as needed by a person with a disability. In 2023, our program plans to train and place 51 assistance dogs in our service area.
Where we work
Awards
Distinquished Community Service Award 2008
ARC
Nonprofit Mission Award for Innovation to Alan Peters, Executive Director 1992
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
President's Award for our "Anything's Paws-able" Prison Puppy Raiser Program 2009
Minnesota Corrections Association
Animal Hall of Fame Award - "Lincoln" Autism Assist Dog 2009
Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association
Dog of the Year Award to "Oreo" a Hearing Assist Dog 2008
City of Minneapolis
Affiliations & memberships
Association of Fundraising Professionals - Member 2005
Assistance Dogs International (ADI) 2017
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of assistance dog teams certified
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Can Do Canines Assistance Dog Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Can Do Canines' overarching goal continues to be to help individuals living with a disability or children with autism live more independent lives through the use of specially trained assistance dogs. The only way we can lessen the wait time for people, though, is to train and place more assistance dogs. To do that, we need the support of dedicated volunteers and donors to continue providing these assistance dogs free of charge to people who need them.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Training an assistance dog is typically a 2-year process. These are the steps that are required to graduate a team (client and dog):
1. Puppies identified as potential assistance dogs live with volunteer Puppy Raiser families. For 12 to 18 months, Puppy Raisers open their homes to the puppies. They also make a commitment to attend classes once a month to begin basic skills training with the dog and introduce the dogs to different situations and people so they are socialized and comfortable in various public places.
2. At 1 year of age or so, potential assistance dogs receive a medical examination and are certified against skeletal or genetic problems. Those that do not pass the medical exam or have behavioral problems (e.g. nervous in public) are placed for adoption in a loving home.
3. Upon successful completion of training with the foster family, the dog is returned to the Can Do Canines' kennels to work with professional trainers to complete the training. After further evaluation the dog is matched with a client and that team (client and dog) training begins. This phase takes between 2 and 4 months. It occurs at both Can Do Canines and at the client's home. Once completed, everyone celebrates at a graduation ceremony.
Before a placement is made, the individual applicant and family is interviewed and screened. Each potential client must document that they have the physical and financial capability to take full responsibility for the dog after it is certified as an assistance dog.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Can Do Canines has found that its donor base expands as more certified assistance dogs work in the community, as well as puppies-in-training. Individuals, businesses and civic groups see the benefits of an assistance dog and begin to support the programs. Can Do Canines has multiple fundraising opportunities that attract new donors, and works to retain donors and bring them to a higher level of giving. Typically, direct program expenses represent 83 percent of the annual budget.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Can Do Canines is a leader and innovator in training assistance dogs that help people with different disabilities. The organization currently trains and places assistance dogs for people with hearing impairment, mobility issues, seizure disorders, type 1 diabetes with hypoglycemic unawareness, and children with autism. Can Do Canines is the only organization in Minnesota that provides Autism Assist Dogs, as well as Hearing Assist Dogs and Diabetes Assist Dogs.
As more assistance dogs are seen in the community providing help and support, the greater the demand is for an assistance dog. While Can Do Canines has increased the number of assistance dogs trained and placed each year, the wait list continues to grow. There is a wait list for every type of assistance dog provided. Currently, more than 160 individuals are waiting to be interviewed, are in the interview process, or are waiting for the right match with an assistance dog in-training. The wait list for our Autism Assist Dogs is growing at an especially fast pace. There are now more than 130 families on the 'pre-application' list (pre-wait list) for an Autism Assist Dog.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Can Do Canines
Board of directorsas of 11/30/2023
Mr. Ross Thorfinnson
Ross Thorfinnson
Spectrum Financial Group, Inc.
Mitch Peterson
Retired from TPI Hospitality
Judy Sharken Simon
Daily Work
Steven Novotny
Arux Software
Dianne Ward
Retired Attorney
Kathryn Hoy
UBS Financial Services
Beth Klingelhofer
Corptax
Connie Roehrich
Retired Prison Warden
Andrew Brust
Sunrise Banks
Scott Thomas-Forss
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Rebeca Sharpe
Best Buy
Drew Wineland
Wells Fargo
Matthew Woods
Robins Kaplan LLP
Gabbi Anderson
Allegro Senior Living
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data