OUR MISSION

Summit Assistance Dogs is a nonprofit organization that creates life-changing partnerships by providing highly-skilled mobility service dogs for people living with disabilities in the Pacific Northwest.

By assisting with tasks such as retrieving items, opening and closing doors, and turning switches on and off, our dogs help their partners live with greater independence and confidence. These companions can also help diminish depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

OUR VISION

We believe all people and animals deserve to reach their highest potential, and that frequently this is best achieved in partnership with one another. We envision a day when every qualified applicant will be able to receive a life-changing service dog from us within one year of applying to our organization.

OUR VALUES

Dogs First

• The well-being of our dogs is our number-one priority.

• The handling and training of our dogs is humane and compassionate at all times.

• We are committed to the excellent care of our dogs for life.

Respect

• We value the contributions of others.

• We recognize the importance of diversity and commit to individual and organizational efforts to build respect, dignity, fairness and equality for all.

• We strive to affirm the worth of others with our words and actions.

Integrity

• We employ the highest ethical standards.

• We strive to demonstrate transparency in every action we undertake.

• We strive to be trustworthy stewards of our resources.

Quality

• We are committed to excellence and professionalism in everything we do.

• We prioritize quality over quantity.

• We strive for continual improvement, so that we will rank among the world’s premier service dog organizations in client satisfaction.

Innovation

• We embrace change, new ideas and creative solutions.

• We recognize that our service-dog partnerships, as well as our global community, benefit when we evaluate existing practices and encourage bold leadership.

Collaboration

• We are a community, focused around our common passion for the human/animal bond.

• We strive to work together cooperatively so that we can achieve great things that none of us could achieve alone.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Summit Assistance Dogs is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of our work. Service dogs, without question, facilitate greater accessibility and inclusion for our clients who are living with disabilities. All of our clients speak of greater social inclusion after being partnered with a dog, and many are also able to join the work force or pursue higher education as a result of the support their dog provides. Our prison program serves a vulnerable and diverse group of men, some for whom training a service dog is the only sense of inclusion they experience within the community outside of prison.

Summit strives to maintain a diverse community of staff, volunteers and clients because we recognize that equality across race, gender, identity, age, religion, ability, and experience, creates stronger communities. We provide employment opportunities for individuals who may have been historically overlooked, including people living with disabilities and people from BIPOC and LGBTQ communities. Our non-discrimination policy is rigorously adhered to.

In summary, we are guided by our organization’s values, which include recognizing the importance of diversity and committing to individual and organizational efforts to build respect, dignity, fairness, equality, and opportunity for all.