Organisation Groups
Assistance dog organisations sometimes belong to groups . Here are the most notable ones and what they are.
Assistance Dogs International is the biggest body which accredits assistance dog organisations to their standards in the world. Of the 130+ accredited organisations, 11 are in the UK. There are also an additional 6 candidate programmes who are working towards ADI accrediation. ADI standards encompass a high standard of training and customer service and it takes 2+ years to become a full member, and then organisations are reaccredited every 5 years. An organisation accredited by the IGDF can be become ADI accredited members without becoming an ADI candidate.
The ADI often has regional groups that help advocate in and manage areas. The UK comes under the ADI’s European Chapter, ‘Assistance Dogs Europe (ADEu)’ which was originally a seperate organisation before merging with the ADI in 2007.
The International Guide Dog Federation is a body that accredits guide dog programmes to their standards. There are currently 2 IGDF organisations in the UK these being Guide Dogs UK and the Seeing Dog Alliance. The IGDF has 3 stages; Accredited Members for those who have met IGDF standards and have completed the membership process, Affiliate Organisations who are working towards membership but aren’t currently members and Enquiring Organisations for newly established programmes who don’t have a working partnership yet.
The International Association Of Assistance Dog Partners is a group made up of assistance dog partnerships trained by an IAADP provider signed of by an IAADP provider. As the IAADP do not accredit their organisations they do not provide a list of providers. The IAADP mainly operates as an advocacy and education organisation representing assistance dog partnerships.
Assistance Dogs UK is a coalition of ADI/IGDF organisations. They currently have 12 member and 6 candidate organisations. The ADUK is thought to have the most partnerships in the UK with over 7000 assistance dog partnerships under the coalition.
