2018-03-31-annual-report

Disability Assistance Dogs

Providing Seizure Response, Diabetic Alert, Nut Allergy and Wheelchair Assistance Dog Training.

Annual Report

&

Statement of Accounts

For the year to March 31[st] 2018

Registered Charity in Northern Ireland NIC 104551

Annual Report for the year ended March 31[st] 2018

The trustees of Disability Assistance Dogs are pleased to submit their report and accounts for the period April 1[st] 2017 to March 31[st] 2018.

Reference and administration details

Charity Name	Disability Assistance Dogs
Other names charity is known by	DAD
Registered charity number	NIC104551
Charity’s principal address	41 Patrician Park, Dublin Road, Newry, County Down, BT35 8NF

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee Name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year
Roisin Sloan	Chairperson
Joanne Glenn	Secretary
Kate Powell	Treasurer

Structure, Governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Description of the charity’s trusts
Type of governing document	Constitution adopted June 2016
How the charity is constituted	Association consisting of 15 members
Trustee selection methods	Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting.

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Additional governance issues

Disability Assistance Dogs benefits from the assistance of Diabetes NI, a national charity that is set up to help people cope with the condition. This charity allows us to use their premises for meeting and training and a representative of Diabetes NI sits on the committee.

Disability Assistance Dogs also have links with Epilepsy Ireland.

These links allow the charity to make informed policy and strategy decisions that benefit the end users of the service.

All trustees and volunteers give their time voluntary and received no remuneration or other benefits.

Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

Provide training to people who have certain disabilities and who are dog owners, to develop the potential of their dogs to assist them with their disability. The disabilities include the following: Epilepsy, Diabetes, Nut Allergy and people with mobility issues. We also conduct research to search for the evidence of the innate response to some family pet dogs to epileptic seizure onset. Additionally, to determine the bio-markers which trigger the alerting response in dogs for people with uncontrolled epilepsy. This research is being carried out by our senior dog trainer, in conjunction with Queens University Belfast.

Summary of the main

Inplanningour activities for theyear we kept in mind the

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	activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects	Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit at our trustee meetings. The main public benefit of our charity is the development and implementation of different training programmes that will meet the needs of our end users. This included tailored training for our end users based on their specific needs. Additionally, we have maintained training support for our end users that have already successfully trained their dogs. In order to do this, the charity had to be properly established with a variety of different policies and procedures put into place. This work is now completed and policies will be kept updated as necessary. Fund raising for payment of University fees to carry out the research with Queens University Belfast has also been carried out. This research is in year 5 of 6 and we are hopeful that the end result will be a medical device that will alert people to the onset of a seizure. These services are provided for a nominal fee to each user. This fee helps to cover mileage costs for the trainer to attend. Our trainer works on a voluntary basis and receives no monetary reward for his services.

Additional details of objectives and activities

All of our members are unpaid volunteers and many give a great deal of time and effort in the pursuit assisting people with disabilities. Without these valuable contributions, the charity would not have been able to achieve as much as we have.

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Achievements and performance

Policy Making	As a new charity, we had a lot of policies and paperwork to prepare, including the following:  Rules & Regulations  Confidentiality agreement  Policy on issuing dog jackets  Puppy training document  Application forms for each discipline  ID cards  Information leaflet  Information booklet  Data protection policy
Publicity	Publicity for the charity has been established and includes the following: Facebook page that has accrued over 20,000 followers An article in ‘My Weekly’ magazine featuring one of our Diabetes dogs and handlers A talk with a Diabetes NI support group Talks to local community groups Attending an event at the Diabetes Conference Distribution of information leaflets for healthcare professionals.
Equipment	Fund raising equipment has been purchased e.g. collection boxes that are placed around Northern Ireland. Some stationary has been purchased Dog coats for trainee dogs have been generously donated from a local pet supply company
Dogs	We currently have four fully trained dogs and several partially trained dog benefitting our members. Until all policies and procedures are adequately in place, we plan to slowly increase this number in a manner that is sustainable and manageable for a small charity.

Financial Review

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CharIt￿S policy on reserves We hold cash at the bank of £544, all of which is unrestricted funds. These funds are held in order to meet any unforeseen expenditure that may occur. We aim to hold at least £500 and no more than £2(X)O in reserves at the year end. Further financial review details We commenced fund raising to cover essential expenses throughout the year. This fund raising takes many forms i.e. collection boxes, individual donations, sponsorship of dog coats, book sales and an online donation drive. Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees. report above. Signed on behalf of the charivs trustees Signature Full Name Joanne Glenn Position Secretary 20/0112019 Date