Our Mission & What We Do
1 | Rescue dogs from shelters and rehabilitate them
2 | Train service dogs for disabled veterans and certify handler/dog teams
3 | Educate the public about rights granted to service dog teams under federal law: The Americans with Disabilities Act
4 | Share CADS therapy dog teams to senior living facilities, nursing homes, schools, hospice, libraries, and more. Visits from these special angels, both the dogs and their handlers, are our gift to our community.
Meet Rick Kaplan
Founder and President
Rick Kaplan comes from a military family, but wasn’t able to serve as a young man. He likes to say he’s “serving as an old one.”
Retirement didn’t suit him, so Kaplan decided to put his extraordinary talent for dog training to work for disabled veterans and founded Canine Angels Service Dogs in March 2011.
In a few short years, his nonprofit has teamed dozens of veterans with service dogs. All dogs that came from a shelter.
Freedom is a gift provided by our veterans gave to each of us. It’s a debt we can never fully repay,” Kaplan says. “I have lived the ideal American life, with every opportunity to provide for my family and keep them safe. That gift was provided by everyone who wore the uniform.”