Dorothy Hyde-Williams, founder of the Nathaniel J Williams Foundation, started breeding Golden Retrievers in 1994 and has built an outstanding reputation for producing puppies that are smart and calm. In 2001, she donated one of her puppies, named BuddyBoy, to a service dog organization in Massachusetts. She raised BuddyBoy and he successfully graduated in 2003. In the years following, she trained many more dogs for that same organization, building a reputation for taking on dogs with behavioral problems and training successful service dogs.

Dorothy also started obedience training classes for the public and has been a successful trainer locally for five years with local vets and shelters recommending her for her practical approach to dog training.

Taking her experience in these various areas, Dorothy started contemplating how she could take things to the next level and thought of starting her own assistance organization. The idea was in its initial stages when her 23 year old son, Nathaniel (or Nate), was killed in an accident. Dorothy and her family then decided to start the organization in his name and memory.

The Nathaniel J Williams Foundation does business under the name Assistance Canine Training Services, or ACTS for short. ACTS is an entirely volunteer based organization with puppy raisers and breeder caretakers in seven towns in the Lakes Region and White Mountains of New Hampshire. To learn more about our puppy raisers and our puppies in training, click on Nate's Teams.