Our History & EVOLUTION

Dogs4Diabetics (D4D) has undergone a remarkable evolution. In the past 15 years we have pursued our vision to become the leading organization that maintains ethical and industry-leading standards of innovative scent-trained dogs. We provide our dogs at no cost to our clients and program recipients.

We have dedicated ourselves in service to the diabetic community and are continuously adapting and innovating to ensure we are providing the care our community needs; all while maintaining the foresight for long-term sustainability, growth, and impact. 

Several years ago, the D4D team started to thoughtfully plan for the expansion and diversification of our mission to more fully respond to the needs of the diabetic community, by implementing a “Total Wellness Initiative” - a community-based model for treating the whole diabetic with a focus on mental strength, resilience, and sustainable well-being. In addition, we’ve explored how we can open our wellness and medical-alert programs to serve populations beyond diabetes. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing what we’ve long known - that individuals beyond just the diabetic community need our dogs now more than ever. During this uncertain and challenging time, we are responding to these growing needs and evolving our science to help more people and make a greater impact. 

We feel that it is our civic and human duty to use our knowledge and skills to benefit a larger demographic. We have begun to adapt our strategies, our operations, and our culture to drive these positive initiatives forward.

What’s the same: Our industry-leading standards and science are driving our responsive, forward-thinking innovation. Our passionate and loving team is more committed than ever to serving the greater community. You are the foundation for our future and will remain a priority in our community!

How we are growing: We have a new name - The National Institute of Canine Service & Training (NICST). Under the NICST umbrella, we’ll offer the following programs:

• Dogs4Diabetics: For our diabetic community, we’ll continue to create life-saving partnerships with service dogs (that have public access rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act) and with buddy dogs (that do not have public access rights). 
• First Response K-9’s: For those who have dedicated their lives to serving us in crisis and emergency, we will offer life-empowering partnerships with service dogs, team dogs, and buddy dogs. 
• Detection Dogs: NICST will continue to innovate by training  dogs for scent discrimination work to meet the urgent needs of our communities. (For example, we are currently partnered with UC Davis Veterinary & Oncology to innovate scent-detection animals for head and neck cancers).

All of our dogs are trained according to the standards and science that made D4D a name in the industry. We are taking 15 years of science and dedication into the future.

We cannot achieve success in anything we set out to do if we choose to pursue these goals independently. Success requires that we consistently work together to achieve our goals through integrated initiatives that place a high priority on moving us forward simultaneously on multiple fronts and managing our total impact as an organization. Your support as well as the balance and integration of these new initiates will be the key to our success.