ADI | Program Standards and Ethics

In keeping with our purpose of helping people with disabilities achieve greater independence and improve the quality of their lives, the member organizations of ADI believe the following ethical criteria are essential to ensure that this mandate is reasonably and responsibly met.

1. Applicants have a right to be considered to receive an Assistance Dog regardless of race, sex, religion or creed.

2. Applicants, students and graduates have the right to be treated with respect and dignity at all times in their dealings with the member organization's personnel and representatives.

3. The student has a right to receive a sound educational program to learn how to use his or her Assistance Dog most effectively at home or in public.

4. The student has a right to receive appropriate education on his or her role as a user of an Assistance Dog in the community.

5. The graduate has the right to receive regularly scheduled team evaluation and follow-up support programs.

6. The graduate has a right to receive information on or ask for assistance in the following matters:

7. Applicants, students and graduates have a right to expect that personal files will remain confidential and will not be disclosed unless they have given express prior permission.

8. The community has a right to expect an Assistance Dog to be under control at all times and to exhibit no intrusive behavior in public.

9. The community has a right to receive information concerning ADI Program Standards and Ethics.

10. The community has a right to receive education on the benefits received by a person with a disability through the use of an Assistance Dog.

11. No applicant, candidate, or graduate shall be required to participate in fund raising or public relations activities without their expressed and voluntary permission.

12. Each individual training agency or individual trainer is responsible for their own policies of funding, including but not limited to donations, designated dollars, general funds, restricted dollars. However, each such agency will be accountable for the ethical issues involved with acceptance of those dollars.

ADI also believes that any dog the member organizations train to become an Assistance Dog has a right to a quality life. Therefore, the only ethical use of an Assistance Dog must incorporate the following criteria.

1. An Assistance Dog must be temperamentally screened for emotional soundness and working ability.

2. An Assistance Dog must be physically screened for the highest degree of good health and physical soundness.

3. An Assistance Dog must be technically and analytically trained for maximum control and for the specialized tasks he/she is asked to perform.

4. An Assistance Dog must be trained using humane training methods providing for the physical and emotional safety of the dog.

5. An Assistance Dog must be permitted to learn at his/her own individual pace and not be placed in service before reaching adequate physical and emotional maturity.

6. An Assistance Dog must be matched to best suit the client's needs, abilities and lifestyle.

7. An Assistance Dog must be placed with a student able to interact with him/her.

8. An Assistance Dog must be placed with a student able to provide for the dog's emotional, physical and financial needs.

9. An Assistance Dog must be placed with a student able to provide a stable and secure living environment.

10. An Assistance Dog must be placed with a student who expresses a desire for independent living and/or an improvement in the quality of his/her life through the use of an Assistance Dog.

11. An ADI member organization will accept responsibility for its dogs in the event of a graduate's death or incapacity to provide proper care.

12. An ADI member organization will not train, place, or certify dogs with any aggressive behavior. An assistance dog may not be trained in a way to stimulate his prey instinct for guard or protection duty. Non-aggressive barking as a trained behavior will be acceptable in appropriate situations.

1. Any individual holding a major staff position, that requires specialized people/canine skills must have not only an affinity for people and excellent communication skills but also canine knowledge and experience to ensure that the member organizations will be able to maintain established standards of service to people with disabilities through their applicant/student/graduate selection, training and follow-up protocols and their canine production, selection, training and team matching methods.

2. All Board members of ADI member organizations must receive orientation and be provided with appropriate educational materials about their respective programs. The materials should include but not be limited to the following:

ADI Member Program Standards and Ethics