Guide Dog Nonprofits Break Ground on 30,000-Square-Foot Smithtown Center

Two Long Island nonprofits that train guide and service dogs for people with disabilities have launched construction this summer on a new 30,000-square-foot facility in Smithtown, an expansion the organizations are calling a landmark investment in their shared mission.

The Guide Dog Foundation and America's VetDogs — both headquartered in Smithtown, where they have operated since the early 1950s — announced the project under the banner of a capital campaign called 'Building for the Future.' The new structure is designed to serve as a puppy development center and a visitor facility, giving the public a closer look at how the organizations train dogs for blind individuals and veterans with disabilities.

The Town of Smithtown played a significant role in advancing the project, according to officials, with Town Supervisor Edward R. Wehrheim credited as instrumental in supporting the effort.

The Guide Dog Foundation and America's VetDogs operate as affiliated organizations that share the Smithtown campus. Together, they place specially trained dogs with clients at no charge, covering the cost of breeding, raising, training and placing each animal entirely through donations. The two groups have placed thousands of dogs with recipients nationwide over their combined history.

Officials did not immediately disclose the full cost of the construction project or a projected completion date in available materials. Construction is underway this summer, the organizations said.

The Smithtown campus has served as the base of operations for the nonprofits for more than seven decades, and officials said the new facility will allow the organizations to expand their capacity to raise and train more dogs to meet growing demand from applicants on waiting lists.