Kynos Stiftung "Hunde helfen Menschen"

The Kynos Foundation "Dogs Help People" is a legally capable public foundation under civil law, founded in 1998 by the publishing couple Dr. Dieter and Helga Fleig. It is dedicated to the promotion and financing of assistance dog training and today primarily supports the guided self-training of already existing dogs by their owners in cooperation with qualified trainers. In addition to classic mobility assistance dogs, the scope of support includes signal and alert dogs for diabetes, epilepsy, autism companion dogs, as well as PTSD support dogs. The foundation is predominantly financed through donations and proceeds from book sales by Kynos Publishing and has been able to train or finance around 170 dogs since its inception. Since the end of 2024, scientific research projects on the topic of dog-assisted intervention have also been funded.

The Kynos Foundation is committed to enabling people with physical, psychological, or neurological impairments to achieve greater participation, safety, and quality of life through the provision and training of assistance dogs. At the same time, it promotes interdisciplinary research to base the quality of training and the use of assistance dogs on scientifically sound foundations and to strengthen their recognition in public perception and legislation.

The funding programs are primarily aimed at individuals with physical or psychological impairments who already own a suitable dog and seek assistance dog-specific training together with qualified trainers. Furthermore, the foundation addresses researchers and higher education institutions from disciplines such as veterinary medicine, psychology, ethology, or social sciences who plan and conduct interdisciplinary research on dog-assisted interventions and assistance dogs.