A different kind of help, on four steady legs.
Care Dogs Australia was founded in 2017 by a small group of veterans, clinicians and dog trainers who had seen first-hand what a trained dog can do for a person carrying trauma. What began as a handful of placements in regional New South Wales has grown into a national charity — but our belief hasn't changed: recovery is rarely something you do alone.
Unlike programs that only certify a dog you already own, Care Dogs maintains its own pool of professionally trained assistance dogs that can be lent and placed with people who need them most. For someone in crisis — who may not have the means, the time, or the stability to raise and train a dog themselves — that difference is everything.
We work alongside treating psychologists, psychiatrists and GPs, not instead of them. A Care Dog doesn't replace therapy or medication. It does something quieter and just as vital: it interrupts the panic, breaks the isolation, and gives a person a reason to get up, get out, and keep going.
"Every dog we place is a promise kept to someone who'd stopped believing things could get better." — Margaret Ellison, Founder & CEO
