NEADS (Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans)

NEADS (Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) is a nationwide American 501(c)3 nonprofit program that provides trained assistance dogs to deaf and disabled Americans.

NEADS (Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) began in 1976 as The Hearing Ear Dog Program, on the Lenox, Massachusetts campus of Holliston Junior College. With seed money from the Medfield Lions Club, students in the Animal Care Program determined that hearing dogs could be trained to become "ears" for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. In 1987, after training over 400 hearing dog "teams," The Hearing Ear Dog Program expanded to train service dogs to become the "arms and/or legs" for people with physical disabilities. In 1989, to reflect these new services, The Hearing Ear Dog Program changed its name to New England Assistance Dog Services (NEADS). NEADS began the Prison PUPs Partnership in 1998, in which prison inmates foster and train service dog puppies for one to two years. In 2000, NEADS expanded its services to include the training of social facilitated therapy dogs trained to assist children living with autism. In 2006, NEADS began a specialty program for injured soldiers returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars through their Canines for Combat Veterans program. The organization now resides on an 18-acre (73,000 m²) campus in Princeton.

NEADS uses both purebred and rescued dogs for its program. In partnership with several local animal shelters, homeless and abandoned dogs are selected for aptitude, temperament and ability, and are trained by NEADS staff to become hearing dogs. NEADS also purchases and receives donated purebred dogs from breeders. These puppies are trained via a multi-step process: the puppies begin socialization at the Laura J. Niles Early Learning Center, are trained in the Prison PUP Program, and are returned to the NEADS campus to receive advanced training.

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