Good Dog Foundation Inc

What Good Dog Foundation Inc does

The Good Dog Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Hudson, New York, that delivers Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) through a program of therapy dog team training, certification, and deployment across the Tri-State/Greater New York metropolitan area. The foundation trains and certifies dog-human teams that visit more than 300 partner facilities including hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, schools, universities, and corporate workplaces, reaching 100,000+ people per year through approximately 30,000 annual volunteer hours from a base of 350+ certified teams.

The core training platform consists of a four-week, four-class, 90-minute in-person hands-on certification methodology unique in the NY Metro area, distinguished by annual re-evaluation requirements and pre-deployment Partnership Agreements with facility partners. Beyond volunteer certification, the product surface includes a Crisis Response Certification (advanced training for select active volunteers), a Professional Certification program for K-12 educators priced at $20 (pre-class evaluation), $875 (course and practicum), $425 (school administration consultation), and $125 (annual re-evaluation), a fee-based Workforce Wellness Program for corporations, a Trainer Program recruiting R+ contractors, and a research portfolio conducted with Mount Sinai, New York Presbyterian, Yale, UPenn, Columbia, and Brown University.

The organization is revenue-diversified across individual donations (including via GoFundMe), foundation grants (notably Blackstone Charitable Foundation), corporate sponsorships (Goldman Sachs, Orrick, Paul Hastings, Lazard, Wells Fargo, and others at the annual gala), fee-based training courses, corporate workplace wellness services, and contracted volunteer placements. Distribution is hybrid: an enterprise field-sales motion for corporate wellness and facility partnerships; a community-led motion for volunteer recruitment; and an event-driven motion anchored by the annual Good Dog Gala.

Name

Good Dog Foundation Inc

Legal name

The Good Dog Foundation

Website

https://www.thegooddogfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Good Dog Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that trains, certifies, and deploys therapy dog teams to provide Animal Assisted Intervention in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and corporate workplaces across the Tri-State NY metro area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal-Assisted Therapy Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animal Welfare Auditing, Compliance & Certification Services (Non-testing Lab) (AFAEALAN), Animal Welfare & Advocacy Organizations (AFAEALAC)

Keywords

• Therapy dog training
• Animal-assisted therapy
• Therapy dog certification
• Corporate wellness programs
• Volunteer dog teams

Headquarters

HQ city

Hudson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations and fundraising campaigns. The foundation operates a GoFundMe campaign for donations.
2. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships: Fee-based Workplace Wellness therapy dog services for businesses and government entities. Corporate sponsorships at annual gala include Orrick, Paul Hastings, Post, Barclays, Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, Goldman Sachs, Lazard, Cascadia, and Wells Fargo.
3. Volunteer Training Fees: Fee-for-service training classes for volunteer therapy dog certification.
4. Professional Training Fees: Fees for professional certification programs for educators and other professionals working with therapy dogs in professional practice.
5. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Support from foundations like Blackstone Charitable Foundation for program expansion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Good Dog Foundation trains, certifies, and deploys volunteer and professional dog-handler teams to provide Animal Assisted Intervention at hospitals, schools, nursing homes, corporate workplaces, and disaster sites across the Tri-State/Greater NY Metro area. Its primary commercial offerings are a four-week Volunteer Certification course, a Crisis Response Certification program, a Professional Certification for K-12 educators, and a fee-based Workforce Wellness program for corporate clients. The organization supports these services with research collaborations, an expert scientific advisory board, and a 300+ partner facility network.

Product overview

The Good Dog Foundation offers a unified platform of therapy dog training and deployment services centered on Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI). The core offerings consist of Volunteer Certification (a 4-week in-person training program for volunteer dog-handler teams), Crisis Response Certification (advanced disaster response training), and Professional Certification for Educators K-12 (for professionals integrating therapy dogs into their practice). Additional services include a Workforce Wellness Program providing corporate therapy dog visits for employee well-being, Research Programs conducted with major hospitals and universities, and a Trainer Program recruiting R+ dog trainers as contractors. The organization deploys certified teams across the Tri-State/Greater NY Metro area to hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and corporate facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ people benefit annually from therapy dog services
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mount Sinai HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor hospital partnership for therapy dog visits supporting cancer patients in treatment. Good Dog conducts research with Sinai on therapy dog intervention outcomes.
• New York Presbyterian HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular weekly therapy dog visits in children's ward. Research partnership for therapy dog intervention studies.
• Yale UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership to study therapy dog intervention helping children recover from stress.
• University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership including Dr. James Serpell as Scientific Advisor. Conducts national survey of therapy dog training.
• Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Alexandra Horowitz runs Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College (Columbia). Research collaboration on human-animal bond studies.
• Brown UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Bradley W. Brockmann serves as Scientific Advisor. Research on health promotion and health equity.
• EmblemHealthcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHealthcare insurance partner receiving therapy dog services and corporate wellness support.
• Morgan StanleycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate wellness partner for workplace therapy dog visits and stress relief services for employees.
• Wells FargocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsorship and workplace wellness therapy dog visit services.
• Barclays CapitalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate wellness partnership with Patrick W. McMullan III serving as Vice Chair of Board of Directors.
• SkaddencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate wellness partnership providing therapy dog visits for employees.
• PepsiCocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate wellness partnership for employee therapy dog visit services.
• Meta (Facebook)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate wellness partnership for workplace therapy dog visits.
• UnumcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerInsurance partner for corporate wellness therapy dog services.
• The Public TheatercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCultural institution partnership for therapy dog services.
• NYC Emergency ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for crisis response and disaster relief therapy dog services.
• NYC Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional certification program for educators K-12 to work with therapy dogs in schools.
• ISAZ (International Society for Anthrozoology)coreOthersProfessional membership organization for the scientific study of human-animal interactions. Dr. Cheryl Krause-Parello served as former President.
• IAHAIO (International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations)coreOthersInternational association for organizations involved in animal-assisted intervention.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Pet Peace of Mind: Nonprofit enabling hospice and palliative care patients to keep their pets through volunteer support. Adjacent service in the human-animal bond / healthcare space with shared hospice and clinical channel.
• National Crisis Response Canines: Crisis response canine deployment organization providing comfort dogs to communities after tragedies and disasters. Directly comparable to Good Dog's Crisis Response Certification program and disaster deployment capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Canine Companions for Independence: Largest nonprofit provider of service dogs in the U.S. Focused on task-trained service dogs (mobility, hearing, psychiatric) rather than therapy visits, but operates in the broader human-animal assistance space with comparable training infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dogs: Faith-based organization deploying certified comfort dog teams for crisis response, hospital visits, and community support nationally. Overlaps with Good Dog on crisis response certification and deployment to disaster-affected communities.
• Love on a Leash: National therapy dog organization certifying volunteer dog-handler teams for visits to hospitals, schools, libraries, and care facilities. Operates a comparable volunteer-led therapy dog model.
• Pet Partners Workforce Wellness: Pet Partners' corporate workplace wellness offering providing therapy dog visits to businesses. Directly competes with Good Dog's Workforce Wellness Program for the same enterprise customer base.
• Pet Partners: The largest national therapy animal organization in the U.S., offering therapy team registration, training, and deployment across hospitals, schools, and workplaces. Directly comparable to Good Dog in service offerings, certification model, and target end-customers.
• Alliance of Therapy Dogs: National therapy dog certification and visitation organization with volunteer dog-handler teams deployed to healthcare, educational, and community facilities. Closely mirrors Good Dog's volunteer certification and facility deployment model.
• Therapy Dogs International (TDI): Long-established therapy dog testing and certification body operating nationwide. Competes with Good Dog on therapy dog certification standards and volunteer team credentials.

Regional players

• BrightSpot Therapy Dogs: New England-based therapy dog organization providing visitation programs to hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. Regional peer with similar volunteer certification and deployment model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GoodDogTherapy
• Facebookfacebook.com/thegooddogfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-good-dog-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/gooddogtherapy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Good Dog Foundation Inc