New look, same mission

Canine Companions in Medford officially changed its brand to visualize the inclusivity of their organization to serve more people with disabilities. The former logo is an iteration of the original logo; the new-and-improved logo is also featured nationally.

“Canine Companions’ brand identity has evolved over the past 45 years since our founding, becoming increasingly more recognizable and relevant within the service dog industry,” said CEO Paige Mazzoni. “We’re looking forward to Canine Companions’ continued evolution and development as a leader, now and in the future.  Our new brand is a strategic component of that roadmap, as well as a step in ensuring we reach our goal of providing service dogs to all qualified candidates.”  

The organization is known for training service dogs for adults, children and veterans with a variety of disabilities, free of charge to clients. The highly skilled service dogs can retrieve dropped items, alert to important sounds in the environment, interrupt flashbacks, participate in therapies and more.

The new logo, according to Northeast Region executive director Debra Dougherty, captures the belief that the human-dog bond makes us all stronger.

“We wanted to make the logo more inclusive,” said Dougherty of the change. “It shows our mission to serve people with disabilities beyond those with a wheelchair.”

The new logo connects the human and the dog with a heart-like shape and also features a letter “I” in the human, to connect to the life-changing independence the service dog provides. The logo is accompanied by their new tagline, “Lead with independence,” in hopes of enhancing the lives of those whom the dogs serve.

“Based on extensive brand research and input from stakeholders, 2021 was the year to make Canine Companions more inclusive, vibrant and welcoming,” Mazzoni added.

To learn more about Canine Companions and how they empower people with disabilities to lead more independent lives, visit canine.org.