4 Paws For Ability Inc
Hopefully Honest Review

We received a service dog last year from this organization. She was a terrible dog, with all types of behavior issues, from barking, to not listening, to using the bathroom in the house. We tried to correct these problems per the contract we signed but was unsuccessful. In hindsight, that dog should never have been classified as a service dog. She wouldn't even have been a well-trained dog. She was simply a overly energetic, hyper dog.

I was very intimidated by the director of 4 Paws. She terrified me. I felt that if I did the smallest thing wrong, she would take our dog. I was afraid to speak up in class about my misgivings about our dog.

Our particular "class" of dogs had many issues. Several dogs were determined to not be good matches with their families.

That being said, several of the dogs in our class were excellent. There was one dog in particular, for a little girl, who was amazingly well behaved and well trained.

The trainer, Jeremy, is awesome. He is very knowledgeable and tried to give us he experience on handling dogs. He obviously knows his stuff and trains great dogs.

I think the demand for dogs is too high- they have too many families desperate for dogs and are simply moving the dogs too fast. Our dog was only 1.5 years old. Most likely, way too young to be a good candidate for a service animal.

The facility is rather cramped, but they are trying to expand. The staff is very caring for the dogs, and you can tell they try hard to make sure the dogs are clean, get exercise, are fed, and are healthy. It is difficult, as there are a lot of dogs in too small a space. But they do try and the dogs look healthy to me.

The organization is very up-front about the fact that these animals are dogs, and not robots. They try to find the right dog the first time, but sometimes it's not a good fit. They do promise to work with you to get another dog if the first dog doesn't work out. But that means more time and more expense.

To train to receive your dogs, you travel to their facility. It's a two week course to qualify as a handler, and you stay in a hotel for those two weeks. Also, two adults, plus your child need to attend. For us, my son missed two weeks of school, and my husband missed two weeks of work. To get another dog, we'd have to go back for another 2 weeks. We simply couldn't afford the travel, the hotel, or the time off of things.

So keep in mind that while they promise you a dog, they can not promise you the first dog they try to give you. It could mean multiple trips to their facility for your entire family.

In my opinion, 4 Paws for Ability COULD be great. You might be the lucky one who has an easy time fund-raising/paying, the travel is easy, and you get a great dog. Believe me, there are plenty of people that will expound on the wonderful dogs they get. But you might be like me- fund-raising money, traveling 18 hours by car, 2 weeks in the hotel only to end up with no dog at all.

Just be prepared for either outcome before you go. Also, if you go, and you're unsure of your dog, DO NOT take him/her home. Tell them about it. Do not think "Well, it will get better." Your first instinct is most likely the right one. I wish I'd listened to mine.

We've since returned the dog, per our contract, and have rescued a dog from our local shelter. Our new dog is already better trained/behaved than our service dog and I've come to realize that the dog we received as a service dog should never have qualified as one.

I would not recommend against 4 Paws, but neither would I recommend for them. I just want future prospective families to have all the facts before the start the long process of getting their dog. Good luck!

Company: 4 Paws For Ability Inc
Country: USA

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