The image shows a golden retriever wearing a blue vest, indicating that it’s a service dog. The dog is sitting indoors on a patterned carpet, beside a dark wooden table. A person, seen partially on the right side of the image, is gently holding and petting the dog under its chin with one hand while the dog’s paw rests on their arm. The dog looks directly at the camera with a calm and affectionate expression.

Japhy

NHCSSD Inspiration

This is Japhy, a service dog trained to assist Brendan Madden, founder of the New Hampshire Coalition for the Support of Service Dogs. He received his training at the Paws With A Cause facility in Wayland Michigan but was flown out to him in New Hampshire in 2005. It took about a year of custom training to meet all of Brendan’s needs. He knew over forty commands, like turning on lights, opening doors, retrieving objects, and even knew a command to go to the bathroom! Japhy passed on in 2019, but his image inspired our logo and his pictures are featured on our website, Facebook page, and Instagram!