Guide Dog Foundation Breaks Ground on New Puppy Development Center

SMITHTOWN, NY, Sept. 15, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs have broken ground on a new Puppy Development & Visitor Center at their national headquarters in Smithtown, New York. This project, which is being supported by significant funding from the Town, County, and New York State, including a $1 million grant from Empire State Development, marks a significant step in the organizations’ mission to provide life-changing assistance dogs to people with disabilities.

The new 30,000-square-foot facility will enhance the earliest and most critical stages of every future guide, service, and facility dog’s journey. It will also expand the organizations’ ability to serve more people with disabilities and welcome the public more deeply into their missions. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by community leaders, donors, volunteers, program graduates, staff, and friends, highlighting the importance of the project.

John Miller, president and CEO of Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs, emphasized the significance of the new center. "Every life-changing partnership we create between a person and an assistance dog begins with a puppy. By investing in those critical earliest stages of development while creating a place where people can experience and participate in our mission firsthand, we are building the foundation to serve more people, engage more volunteers and supporters, and strengthen our impact for generations to come."

Empire State Development President, CEO, and Commissioner Hope Knight praised the organizations for their long-standing commitment to changing lives. "For 80 years, the Guide Dog Foundation and America's VetDogs have been changing lives from their home on Long Island, giving people with disabilities, including veterans and first responders, greater independence, mobility, and opportunity. This new center is an investment not only in the organizations' future but in the people, families, and communities they serve in all 50 states."

The new facility will include enhanced puppy development and veterinary spaces, advanced biosecurity features, educational visitor experiences, and a gathering space capable of welcoming more than 300 guests for graduations, mission-focused events, community programs, and indoor training. Over time, the center is expected to help increase the organizations’ capacity by 25 percent, allowing more individuals with disabilities, including America’s veterans, active-duty military, and first responders, to receive accredited, custom-trained guide and service dogs completely free of charge.

Long Island Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chairs Linda Armyn and Dr. Kimberly R. Cline noted the importance of the project in creating jobs and strengthening the community. "The Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs are deeply rooted in Long Island, yet their work changes lives across the country. This expansion will create jobs, strengthen their Smithtown campus, and increase their capacity to provide life-changing assistance dogs. By choosing to invest and grow here on Long Island, the organizations are also creating new opportunities for education and community engagement while advancing a mission with national reach."

The Town of Smithtown, led by Supervisor Edward R. Wehrheim, has played an important role in helping the organizations advance the project and remain in the community they have called home for some 80 years. "This groundbreaking is an exciting milestone not only for the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs but for the entire Smithtown community. For generations, these organizations have carried out extraordinary work from their home here in Smithtown. This new facility will allow that work to grow, bring more visitors and volunteers into our community, and ensure Smithtown remains home to a mission that changes lives throughout the nation."

The facility is being designed by Studio Miers | Chou | Poon Architecture, in collaboration with internationally renowned blind architect and accessibility expert Chris Downey of Architecture for the Blind and Long Island-based bld Architecture, dpc. Construction is being led by TRITEC Real Estate Company. The ceremonial groundbreaking kicked off with a special parachute jump from The All-Veteran Group, a professional parachute team and veteran advocacy organization, sponsored by America’s VetDogs’ Puppy With a Purpose® partner, Window World. The event also featured a special guest appearance by Sully H.W. Bush, the America’s VetDogs service dog who served President Bush and continues his career supporting veterans and staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as a facility dog.

The Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs have been providing accredited, custom-trained guide, service, and facility dogs to individuals who are blind, have low vision, or have other disabilities, including veterans, active-duty military, and first responders with physical and emotional disabilities, for 80 years. It costs more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train, and place one assistance dog, but the organizations provide their services completely free of charge, empowering those they serve to Live Without Boundaries®.