Dog AID is based on the successful American organization called Top Dog. The original idea of the scheme was to help people with physical disabilities train their own pet dogs. Internationally acclaimed behaviorist, John Rogerson, together with co-founder, Dolores Palmer, are responsible for adapting this idea for the needs of people with physical disabilities in the UK. In 1992 a pilot scheme was set up in the Midlands and so Dog AID was born.
The Guide Horse Foundation was founded in 1999 as an experimental program to access the abilities of miniature horses as assistance animals. There is a critical shortage of guide animals for the blind and guide horses are an appropriate assistance animal for thousands of visually impaired people in the USA.
