Our Dogs Save (More) Lives: Dogs4Diabetics Has New Name, Bigger Mission

Roman and Whistler

Skilled medical-alert service dogs can make a profound difference in the lives of people with diabetes - sometimes the difference between life or death. The need for these service dogs has become even more evident during the pandemic and not just for those with diabetes.

At the nonprofit group Dogs4Diabetics (D4D), we’ve been on the frontlines of this work for over 15 years. We’re committed to upholding ethical, industry-leading standards for scent-trained dogs, and we’ve made good on our promise to provide these programs to the diabetic community free of charge. During this time, D4D has continuously adapted and innovated to meet community needs, while keeping a watchful eye on long-term sustainability, growth, and impact. 

 More than two years ago, the D4D team began to expand and diversify our mission by implementing the Total Wellness Initiative, a community-based model for treating the whole diabetic with a focus on mental strength, resilience, and sustainable well-being. In addition, the team has explored ways to open our wellness and medical-alert programs to serve other populations beyond the diabetic community. 

 The COVID-19 pandemic revealed what many have known all along - that a wide range of folks need trained service dogs now more than ever. D4D has responded to this growing need, using our knowledge and skills to benefit more people, not just those with diabetes. We’ve adapted our strategies, operations, and culture to move these initiatives forward.

We’ve kept some things the same. Science and industry-leading standards continue to drive our responsive, forward-thinking innovation. And, of course, our passionate, dedicated team retains its diehard commitment to community service. 

 But we’ve grown in important ways, too, starting with our new name: the National Institute of Canine Service & Training (NICST). Under this bigger NICST umbrella, we’re now able to offer a variety of programs. These include:

• Dogs4Diabetics. For our diabetic community, we continue to create life-saving partnerships with service dogs who have public access rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as with buddy dogs who do not have public access rights. 

• First Response K9s. For those who dedicate themselves to service in crisis and emergencies, we offer life-empowering partnerships with service dogs and buddy dogs. 

• Proof Dogs. NICST will build on D4D’s legacy of innovation by training proof dogs for scent discrimination work for urgent needs and other special projects. For example, we are currently partnered with UC Davis Veterinary & Oncology to train scent-detection animals for head and neck cancers.

All our dogs will continue to be trained according to the standards and science that made D4D a leader in the service dog industry. Our dogs are trained to reliably and accurately perform tasks through multiple phases of training. Every dog must pass each training phase with at least 90% accuracy and achieve a statistical confidence interval as high as 99.73% in performance. At this standard of performance, we can ensure that our dogs will strengthen the mental health and overall well-being of any individual and team they are placed with.

The D4D team is excited to expand our life-saving work beyond the diabetes community as the new National Institute of Canine Service and Training. Moving 15 years of science and dedication into the future, we’ll continue our mission to provide skilled service dogs to those in need. To learn more, please visit our website at  OurDogsSaveLives.org.