About us
Proudly enriching the lives of young New Zealanders and their families, by providing purpose-trained Assistance Dogs.
Our Story
"72% of our clients are children and young adults under 20 years old, and 50% of our clients live with autism and multiple disorders".
Assistance Dogs New Zealand Trust (ADNZT) is a registered charitable trust, providing purpose-bred and trained dogs to clients living with a range of disabilities. We are committed to providing a quality service that evaluates each applicant individually and provides assessment, training, and follow-up to each individual client's specific needs. We provide our service to people with a wide range of disabilities.
Our mission is to enrich the lives of New Zealanders living with a disability. 72% of our clients are children and young adults under 20 years old, and 50% of our clients live with autism and often multiple disorders. Each of our clients are individuals - we take on New Zealanders with disabilities who have no other organisation to turn to and work collaboratively with other NZ service-dog organisations to refer the rest.
Our organisation has government-granted public rights access for all our dogs under the Human Rights Act 1993 and Dog Control Act 1996. We are a member of and internationally accredited by Assistance Dogs International and are incredibly proud of the high standard of dogs we provide for our clients throughout the country.
Our History
"Creating an organisation in New Zealand to cater for this gap of service in our community."
Our story began in 2004 when Sonya Ewens watched a Campbell Live documentary about a young autistic boy in the USA who gained access to his community with the help of a specially trained autism Assistance Dog. Sonya approached two other mothers who she knew had autistic children, with the dream of providing something similar for Kiwi families. With a lack of similar organisations in New Zealand or Australia, their research led them to an organisation called 4 Paws for Ability in Ohio, USA, which agreed to train three dogs and bring them to New Zealand with trainers, to help their children.
After three long years of fundraising, the dream began to take shape. It was clear that there was a demand from other local families in need, so an approach was made to 4 Paws for Ability about starting a New Zealand branch. Following considerable additional effort, the initial incorporation as a charitable trust was completed in May 2008. The founding trustees were Sonya Evans, Melanie Sutton, Michelle Rivers, and Julie Hancox. Later that year, the name was changed to Assistance Dogs New Zealand - also known as Assistance Dogs New Zealand Trust (ADNZT).
Julie formulated her own dog training programme with the constant assistance and support of her husband, Rick. ADNZT now services over 40 clients New Zealand-wide with a waiting list that is continuously growing beyond the capabilities of this unique and successful charitable organisation.
The ADNZT team continues to offer great things to the community through strong breeding stock, professional training, dog assessment programs, and a consistently high placement success rate. Without a doubt, the team is committed to our cause and works tirelessly to overcome the many obstacles that come our way.
Public Access Rights
In 2010, ADNZT was granted full public access rights under New Zealand legislation. This allows all ADNZT puppies and dogs to accompany staff, volunteers, and clients into any public place, including supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, food outlets, hotels, motels, movie theaters, and more. They are also permitted to travel on all forms of public transport.
Any discrimination against a person training or relying on an Assistance Dog may constitute a breach of the Human Rights Act 1993 and/or Dog Control Act 1996.
It is important to note that a client’s ADI certification depends on their organisation maintaining ADI accreditation. Only teams from ADI-accredited organisations can be recognised as ADI certified. If an organisation were to lose its ADI accreditation, its teams would no longer hold ADI certification.
FAQs
Reporting Back
We're committed to remaining open and honest with our supporters and stakeholders at all times.
Click here to read our 2023 annual report.
Click here to access our latest, full financial report.
You can also find publicly available information about us on the Charity Services Website.