Organizations Filed Purposes:
TO PROFESSIONALLY TRAIN DOGS TO HELP PEOPLE AND ENHANCE LIVES WHILE MAINTAINING A LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO ALL DOGS WE RESCUE OR BREED AND THE PEOPLE WE SERVE.
DOGS FOR BETTER LIVES (DBL) IS THE OLDEST HEARING DOG TRAINING CENTER IN THE U.S. AND AMONG ONE OF THE FIRST ASSISTANCE DOG ORGANIZATIONS IN THE WORLD TO BE FULLY ACCREDITED BY ASSISTANCE DOGS INTERNATIONAL. DBL TRAINERS MUST COMPLETE AN IN-DEPTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM TO BECOME CERTIFIED. DBL IS UNIQUE IN THAT CERTIFIED TRAINERS BRING THE DOGS TO THE CLIENTS' HOMES FOR PLACEMENT, ALLOWING FOR A CUSTOMIZED AND ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORT. ADDITIONALLY, THE ORGANIZATION HAS ONE OF THE MOST THOROUGH FOLLOW-UP PROGRAMS IN THE ASSISTANCE DOG SECTOR. IN NOVEMBER 2017, THE NATIONAL NONPROFIT CHANGED ITS NAME FROM DOGS FOR THE DEAF TO DOGS FOR BETTER LIVES TO BETTER ENCOMPASS THE RANGE OF ASSISTANCE DOGS IT NOW TRAINS AND PLACES, WHICH INCLUDES HEARING DOGS, AUTISM ASSISTANCE DOGS, FACILITY DOGS, AND CAREER CHANGE DOGS.
DBL TRAINERS TRAVEL TO ANIMAL SHELTERS ACROSS THE WESTERN U.S. TO EVALUATE DOGS FOR APPROPRIATE TEMPERAMENT, CONFIDENCE, AND WORK ETHIC. DOGS MEETING SPECIFIC CRITERIA ARE BROUGHT TO DBL'S SOUTHERN OREGON CAMPUS FOR FURTHER EVALUATION AND NECESSARY MEDICAL TREATMENT. THEY THEN BEGIN EXTENSIVE TRAINING, WHICH CAN TAKE UP TO 4-6 MONTHS OR LONGER FOR EACH DOG. ONCE TRAINED, DOGS ARE CAREFULLY MATCHED WITH APPLICANTS FROM A WAITING LIST, TRAINERS TAKES THE DOGS TO THE CLIENTS' HOME TO TEACH THEM HOW TO MAINTAIN THE DOG'S TRAINING. AFTER PLACEMENTS, DBL PERFORMS CONTINUAL FOLLOW UP, PROVIDING GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT FOR THE LIFE OF THE DOG AND CLIENT TEAMS. DBL NO LONGER REQUIRES AN APPLICATION FEE OR GOOD FAITH DEPOSIT, THEREFORE PROVIDING DOGS AT NO COST TO THEIR CLIENTS. IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020, DBL MAINTAINED REGULAR CONTACT WITH AND PROVIDED SUPPORT FOR 125 EXISTING CLIENTS. DBL RESCUED 34 DOGS FROM SHELTERS, BRED 7 PUPPIES, AND ACQUIRED 20 DOGS THROUGH NETWORKING WITH OTHER SERVICE DOG AGENCIES. THE ORGANIZATION PLACED A TOTAL OF 60 DOGS: 10 HEARING DOGS, 1 FACILITY DOG, AND 49 CAREER CHANGE DOGS. THE AUTISM AND FACILITY DOG PROGRAMS ARE DBL'S NEWEST ENDEAVORS AND ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASINGLY GROW IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
DBL'S PUBLIC EDUCATION IS PRIMARILY DONE THROUGH SHARING OF DIGITAL ONLINE MEDIA AND PRINTED MATERIALS, INCLUDING ITS BI-ANNUAL MAGAZINE, CANINE LISTENER. THE ORGANIZATION PRESENTS TO SEVERAL DIVERSE AUDIENCES ACROSS THE NATION, DEMONSTRATING HOW THE DOGS ARE TRAINED TO HELP PEOPLE. DBL IS CONTINUING TO DEVELOP ITS VOLUNTEER AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, IN WHICH VOLUNTEERS ARE TRAINED IN PRESENTING TO THE PUBLIC AND INTERVIEWING PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS ON BEHALF OF DBL. THIS NATIONAL PROGRAM IS A SIGNIFICANT ASSET TO DBL, IN EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION. AS A RESULT OF ITS OUTREACH AND CULTIVATION EFFORTS, DBL CONTINUES TO RECEIVE CONSISTENT INCOME FROM BEQUESTS, WITH CURRENT DONORS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC PLACING THE ORGANIZATION IN THEIR ESTATE PLANS.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Bryan Williams | PRESIDENT/CEO | 42 | $152,564 |
| Keva Meyer | BOARD MEMBER | 0 | $0 |
| Tom Dobry | BOARD MEMBER | 0 | $0 |
| Garrett West | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Blake Thurman | TREASURER | 1 | $0 |
| Danielle Rose | BOARD MEMBER | 2 | $0 |
| Doug Hexter | BOARD MEMBER | 0 | $0 |
| Bill Pritchett | VICE CHAIR | 0 | $0 |
| Loree Seibert | BOARD MEMBER | 0 | $0 |
| David Hollingsworth | CHAIR | 1 | $0 |
| Stacy Tollie | BOARD MEMBER | 2 | $0 |
| Jeff Rhoden | BOARD MEMBER | 0 | $0 |
| Ronald H Holzkamp Cpa | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Brian Mcquade | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | $0 |
| Matt Dunbar | SECRETARY | 1 | $0 |
| Al Lane | IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202032949349301668_public.xml