Our three parent organizations
Paws for a Cause Miami works with SDiTs from three different organizations: 4 Paws for Ability, Circle Tail, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind. We encourage our members to do research on all three organizations and see which is the right fit for you if you’re interested in fostering a dog.
Circle Tail
Circle Tail's mission is to empower, educate, and inspire individuals and communities through professional training and partnership of highly-skilled service-oriented dogs.
4 Paws for Ability
4 Paws for Ability enriches the lives of people with disabilities by placing life changing service dogs.
We breed, raise, and train our service dogs in preparation to assist their partner with specific tasks and skills that mitigate the impacts of their partner’s disabilities.
We work hard, love harder, and play the hardest.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is dedicated to creating and supporting life-changing connections. Since our founding by Donald Kauth in 1954, we’ve graduated almost 10,000 teams. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with all services provided completely free of charge. At Guiding Eyes, we rely upon the contributions of our generous donors to fulfill our mission.
Guiding Eyes is an accredited member of the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), the organization that establishes worldwide standards for the breeding and training of guide dogs. We’re proud to support their mission to improve and uphold worldwide standards for the breeding and training of guide dogs.
What happens after training on campus?
After training at Miami University with a handler, our dogs go back to the facility they are from and train with advanced trainers to ready their skills to become a service dog. No matter the path that they choose, we are so proud of our dogs and are excited for their future as a service dog, facility dog, or even the fabulous flunkies! For each of our three partner organizations, here are the paths they might choose.
4 Paws for Ability
Service Dog: After a few months at advanced training, if deemed fit, the dog will become a full-time service dog. These dogs are task trained, case specifically, for their partner and may be placed as autism assistance dogs, seizure assistance dogs, FASD assistance dogs, multipurpose assistance dogs, mobility assistance dogs, diabetic alert dogs, etc.
Breeder: The dogs that get placed as Breeders have an awesome job at producing puppies that then go through the program. All of the breeder dogs have to pass health clearances to take part in the program (orthopedic, cardiology, etc) and have passed a service dog assessment. It must be determined that the possible breeder dog would make a fantastic service dog before the dog may officially enter the breeder program.
Client Companion: These dogs go to a family that has a service dog already. 4 Paws for ability believes that children in the home deserve to have the opportunity for a best friend and pet dog and that the dog must contribute to the success of the service dog in the home as well.
Fabulous Flunky: These are the dogs that chose the pet life! We are still so proud of them and happy that they can play with squeaky toys and live their life. Flunkies are normally adopted by the public or their previous volunteer trainer.
Other jobs: Some dogs get placed as hospital dogs, arson dogs, and police dogs. These jobs are much rarer but happen when the dog has the temperament to be successful but potentially needs an outlet that isn’t a full-time service dog.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Dogs that do not meet the stringent criteria for guide work can become service dogs, detection dogs, search and rescue dogs, therapy dogs, or cherished family pets. Regardless of the career paths our dogs choose, we are immensely proud of each one of them.
Circle Tail
Circle Tail aims to place all dogs in a job that’s right for them. Their name is an homage to this. When a dog is truly happy with what they’re doing, they wag their tail in a circle. There are three paths a circle tail dog may choose:
Assistance dogs: After 2 years of training, dogs may be placed as mobility assistance, seizure response, diabetic alert, hearing dogs, or in-home service dogs.
Facility dogs: Dogs who aren’t content in the assistance dog path are able to be placed as facility dogs. These dogs go through at least a year of training and provide physical, social, cognitive, or emotional assistance in schools, courthouses, sober living homes, funeral homes, hospice centers, etc.
Career-changed: Dogs who aren’t a good fit for either the assistance dog or facility dog programs are career changed and adopted into loving homes.