Righteous Pups Australia (formerly Righteous Pups Bendigo) is a not for profit organisation with a mission to raise, socialize and train Autism Assistance Dogs to do a variety of practical tasks for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families.

The impact each dog makes on the life of their recipient is priceless, giving recipients a greater level of independence, self-esteem and an overall improvement in psychological well-being and quality of life.

Each Autism Assistance dog will cost approximately $29,000 to rear, train and place over an 18-month period.

At the completion these Autism Assistance Dogs are carefully placed with their recipient child, and family, at no expense. Read more...

Our Vision

Righteous Pups Australia seeks to transform and enrich the lives of those we interact with through canine interventions.

Our Mission

RPA exists to train dogs for Autism Assistance and Therapy roles, which empower people to live with greater independence and quality of life.

What do we do?

We raise, socialise, train and permanently place Autism Assistance dogs with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

We also train Therapy dogs who, visit and interact with older persons, the infirmed, persons with disabilities and the socially isolated within the community.

Another part of RPA is to work with academically and/or socially challenged high school students through our S.W.A.T. (Specifically Working with At-risk Teens) program. Working with animals has proven to have a major positive impact on teenagers, especially those with anger and depression related issues.

Our dog training team also incorporates a training team composed of local unemployed young people, giving them a sense of purpose and significance. These trainees are now highly competent dog trainers who absolutely love working with the dogs. There is a tremendous sense of personal pride when you are involved in something greater than yourself and we have seen young people's lives changed.