Leash of Hope Assistance Dogs is an organization founded in 2014 which trains rescue dogs for the purpose of assisting those with different disabilities as service or guide dogs.. The dogs are taught in a way that best suits the dog’s natural abilities which than dictates the type of work the dog will go into. The overarching aim of these wonderful dogs and indeed, Leash of Hope is to provide independence beyond the disability.

Leash of Hope was founded by Danielle Main and Tessa Schmidt. The objective of the organization is to train service dogs to enable people with disabilities to enjoy more independent living and provide “Hope at both ends of the Leash”. The recipients of LoH dogs have often slipped through the cracks of the current support systems and would otherwise have nowhere to turn. Tessa and Danielle founded the organization when it became increasingly obvious that there is still a major need for support for those with disabilities who want to live their lives independently. Danielle, who is legally blind, and Tessa, who lives with spastic cerebral palsy, has experienced the independence and confidence that their service dogs have given to them and have done everything they can to change the lives of others who live with disabilities such as blindness, cerebral palsy, autism, PTSD and many other conditions.