Mission
Advancing the human-canine partnership through research and education.

Philosophy
Bergin University of Canine Studies, home of the Assistance Dog Institute, offers quality instruction in human and canine studies to postsecondary students worldwide interested in furthering their knowledge of themselves and the role of the dog with human society.
Through the University's up-to-date, in-depth, academic coursework, students can expand their knowledge for scholarly or career purposes or can enhance their knowledge of their own specialties through the unique viewpoint provided by human-canine studies.

Historical Background and Future Plans
The Assistance Dog Institute was founded in 1991 by Dr. Bonnie Bergin, the originator of the service dog concept, and founder of Canine Companions for Independence and the Assistance Dog United Campaign. The Institute is an educational and research institution concentrating on teaching and researching ways to “help dogs help people.” This approach differs significantly from that of Canine Companions for Independence and other assistance dog organizations [many of whom employ or are operated by Institute graduates] whose mission is primarily that of producing and placing assistance dogs with individuals with disabilities.

After seventeen dedicated years invested in creating and building the service dog concept through Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), Dr. Bergin had to face the uncomfortable truth that CCI could not even begin to meet the ever-growing need for service dogs. More needed to be done, and that “more” required educating people to start or assist the development of assistance dog programs in their own locales. Thus the Assistance Dog Institute was born. With several hundred graduates to date, the Institute has met that initial goal, although the demand for service dogs still exceeds the supply.

By the late 1990’s, it became increasingly clear that the desire for knowledge about dogs and dog/human relationships encompassed a much broader arena than that of assistance dogs. The use of the canine as a conduit to helping us understand ourselves better became the central focus of our High Schooled Assistance Dog program whereby at-risk teens train service dogs, learning life skills in the process. To provide a similar offering for the general public, the University’s Associate of Science degree in Human-Canine Life Science was born. And simultaneously, with the field of assistance dogs having grown exponentially due in part to the University’s seminar graduates’ successful programs, the demand for more qualified, knowledgeable individuals involved in the field was clear. Thus was born the Institute’s Associate of Science degree in Assistance Dog Education. In 2004, the University was approved to grant Master of Science degrees in Human-Canine Life Sciences and Assistance Dog Education.

Significant growth in Institute offerings has occurred recently. The University has grown from its Associate of Science and Master of Science offerings to include a Bachelor of Science degree. A proposal for an Associate degree in Canine Business Management is currently being explored. The dynamic component of our human-canine studies, in which the canine is used as a conduit to help us understand ourselves better, will encourage the development of more courses like our People Management and Teacher/Parent Training and lead to other useful and innovative degree programs.