Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN) began in December 2001 to serve Indiana residents who live with a disability. Our founder, Dr. Sally Irvin, knew that service dogs are catalysts for positive change — one dog can impact so many different people, and they remind us daily what unconditional love is all about. And from the beginning, we’ve accepted service dog applications regardless of a person’s age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origins, or disabilities.

We started our service dog training program at The Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility, where incarcerated teens interacted with the puppies. Back then, ICAN actually had two As; we were the Indiana Canine Assistant and Adolescent Network (ICAAN). We originally focused on teenagers: at-risk youth, incarcerated adolescents, and those with disabilities.

Although teens could effectively teach young dogs, we realized their bigger need was to experience the unconditional love and healing a puppy could give. So, we became ICAN with one “A” to focus on adult inmates training service dogs, and children with disabilities receiving placement priority.

On Valentine’s Day in 2002, we delivered three puppies to the Rockville Correctional Facility. Eager inmate handlers awaited their new pupils: Casey and Bud, both Golden retrievers, and Nora, a petite Labrador. With a modest annual budget, a core group of 12 dedicated volunteers began to build our foundation! By the following year, ICAN expanded into two more correctional facilities, and we tripled our budget and number of dogs.

We placed our first service dogs: Bud with a child who had Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy, and Duke and Asha with school physical therapists focused on children with severe disabilities. Grant funding also began for ICAN in 2004, which allowed us to hire paid staff.

That same year, we saw a growing need for service dogs for children with autism. So, we embraced the challenge and developed a specialized training curriculum. Since then, 22 children with autism have partnered with a service dog, helping them connect with their family and friends.

We realized another need in 2008; people with type 1 diabetes were seeking a dog that could “help them help themselves.” When they were unaware of their dropping blood sugar levels, they became susceptible to falling down (and possible crisis).

We studied how dogs can sense the chemical change that occurs when blood sugar levels drop, and we began training ours to alert individuals with a nudge to the arm.

We placed our first diabetic alert dog to assist their owner in detecting blood sugar drops — and “help them help themselves.”

We celebrated 10 years of bringing hope to clients, inmates, and their families with our Decade of Dogs Celebration in November 2012.

We celebrated 15 years of bringing hope and independence to clients, inmates, and their families in November. And ICAN at IU (Indiana University Bloomington) became a student organization for on-campus furlough volunteers.

We added three new handler positions and 13% more dogs to the program in 2019. 25 service dogs found new homes with grateful clients, and 51 furlough volunteers joined us to support and promote our mission. What’s more, ICAN at IU grew to 365 members — more than twice the number of students we started with.

Also in 2019, ICAN hosted the Assistance Dogs International (ADI) conference, welcoming 13 countries and 300 international professionals working in the service dog industry. And the City of Indianapolis recognized ICAN’s work in the community with Resolution 29.

We doubled our office space by moving from Speedway to Zionsville so we could expand our programming and better serve our volunteers.

Today

Thanks to our community’s generous support, we’ve been able to place more than 213 service dogs with clients, and more than 300 inmate handlers have trained our dogs. We have almost 60 handlers and dogs-in-training at three correctional facilities, a small but mighty team of seven employees, and more than 200 volunteers.

We’re also honored to be the only service dog program based in Indiana that’s accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI). We also renew our accreditation every five years and provide public access evaluations every year. This lets us continue making an impact on hundreds of lives — every single day.