When I first envisioned PAALS I imagined rescuing every dog possible and giving them a valuable and rewarding job as an assistance dog. I quickly learned that a rescue that passes all the necessary health and temperament tests to qualify for an assistance dog is rare and sometimes costly to find. PAALS is lucky to have found a partner, The Heartworm Project, that screens shelter dogs for us continually in attempt to find these rare gems. We are hopeful that this dream will become realized with their help. If you would like to help with this special project by donating please contact us.

In the meantime PAALS was fortunate to have developed another important partnership with a fellow ADI member, Guiding Eyes for the Blind's (GEB) Breeding Center. They helped PAALS select potential puppies from long working lines of dogs to raise as breeders. Three years later we have our first litter on the way. PAALS is extremely grateful to GEB for mentoring us through the breeding process and to all the donors who helped make this first a reality!

GEB’s research has shown that puppy temperament tests at eight– weeks–old can reliably predict the sucess potential of a puppy to become an assistance dog. This means that sometime around the holiday season we may have some release puppies available. As always, we will give priority to finding homes where our release puppies could benefit a special child or adult with their companionship. If you are interested in a release puppy or dog please contact me at jrogers- @paals.org for an application as we already have a waiting list.

PAALS' first litter of life changing puppies also brings new puppy name sponsorship opportunities. What better way to honor someone you love or a pet you miss than to use their name to change a life! Please see our website for more details. Foster families are also needed to help support the upcoming recruits. Please contact Libba, our foster coordinator, at libbapaals@ bellsouth.net.

PAALS overall goal is to train assistance animals to help individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness. These animals can help with a vast array of tasks to assist with physical disabilities, and social needs as assigned assistance animals, or using them through quality programs to groups or organizations that can benefit from our assistance animals.