back. key aims. board. history. census

History In Autumn 2000, 13 organisations from 7 different European countries have met in the Netherlands. Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, English, German, Italian and Swiss organisations were represented. It appeared that there were many issues of joint concern for all the assistance dog organisations in Europe. They have many historic links and share similar approaches in their training. A strong feeling emerged at the conference that there should be much closer European co-operation between the programmes. It was decided to meet annually and establish an international secretariat, the first step towards creating Assistance Dogs Europe (ADEu). Meetings in Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Sweden and Germany again followed. Statutes and standards are written and an accreditation process has started. At the moment there are 11 Accredited, 24 Full and 9 Provisional Members. Since January 2007 ADEu is a region of Assistance Dogs International (ADI).