Our Story

Every day, people who rely on service dogs face challenges most never see.

A simple trip to the store. A meal at a restaurant. Boarding a flight.
What should be routine becomes stressful, unpredictable, and sometimes humiliating.

Service dog handlers are questioned, denied access, interrupted, or forced to explain deeply personal information just to exist in public spaces. These moments aren’t rare…They’re constant.

And they come at a cost, eroding confidence, limiting independence, and forcing individuals to choose between their safety and their ability to participate in everyday life.

Justice Speaks was built from lived experience.

Our founders have experienced firsthand the frustration, anxiety, and exhaustion that come from navigating a world that doesn’t fully understand service dogs. But they’ve also seen something powerful:

Education changes everything.

When people understand how service dogs work—and how to interact appropriately—barriers disappear. Access improves. Dignity is restored.

That’s the change we exist to create.

What We Do

Justice Speaks works at the intersection of education, advocacy, and real-world application. We equip people to create real change.

We support service dog handlers
…With tools, scripts, and guidance to confidently advocate for their rights without sacrificing their privacy.

We train businesses and frontline staff
…Through clear, practical protocols that help teams understand exactly how to interact with service dog teams in real situations.

We educate communities
…By addressing misconceptions, promoting respectful behavior, and helping the public understand the critical role service dogs play.

We advocate for systemic change
…By supporting policies, legislation, and accountability that protect access and reduce discrimination.

Meet the Team

Cathy Burds

Founder

With a passion for disability rights for the individual and their service dog, I want to help enhance your life experiences by advocating for those who cannot do it for themselves.

Growing up with dogs, I’ve always known the value they bring and how they can take away the anxiety we often feel and make us whole again.  There is nothing like a kiss on the cheek, head on the lap, or snuggle to make you forget the world around you and feel a sense of peace and calm.

Having a hearing disability along with PTSD, it was suggested I get a service dog to help me be a “normal” member of society. At the time, I had small children and the cost to get a service dog seemed so far out of reach.  Later, I learned I could obtain and train my own dog for a lot less and so the journey began 6 years ago with Justice.

Justice has brought so much to my life. She is an extension of my own body with her ability to make up for my disabilities. She has given me the gift of freedom, freedom to go out into the world, to places where I once wasn’t sure I belonged, to environments where I hesitant because of the “what if” questions, she has made me feel whole and normal. Because of her and what she has done in my life, I want others to be able to experience the lifesaving tools and the sense of normalcy a service dog can bring to their lives. 

However, with all the good Justice has brought me, her presence in the community has not always been well received.  Its because of this I founded Justice Speaks. Our communities need to aware of and educated in how to respond to and react around service dogs. Together we can bridge the gaps in knowledge between the individual and their communities, shaping public perception and achieving equal rights for everyone.

Duke

Trainer

Dogs have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My first dog Duchess was always by my side she started my love and passion for dogs by being the best, best friend any boy could ever ask for.   Over the years I’ve owned several different breeds but in 2009, a 16-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog “Zoe” captured my heart and started me on my current path. 

I served in the Army (Infantry reclassed to Medic) for 8 years with 2 deployments (Afghanistan and Iraq) when I was stationed at Fort Carson.  One step off the airplane and I knew I had found home. The mountains called to me, that and the fact I could leave a bag of chips open and they didn’t go stale within the hour.  In 2009, I met my wife and together we started the adventure of AKC purebred dogs. Having “Berners” has changed my life, together we have traveled across the United States and formed a “family” with our colleagues in the sport.  Not to mention, training two Versatility Dogs so far, and achieving Conformation, Obedience, Rally, Drafting, Farm Dog, Trick Dog and Canine Good Citizen titles.  Maybe soon we’ll have Bernese Mountain Dog Dock Divers too?

Over the years, I learned a variety of different techniques, tips, and tricks for training dogs. Testing each of them through trial and error has helped form my own style of training dogs and their owners. I thoroughly enjoy being able to help others bridge the gap between themselves and their dogs to build a better relationship, improve dynamics, and be successful in their endeavors for performance.

I truly believe because of my dogs my life is so much richer and fuller than it would have been without them. I have seen firsthand how a dog can help people and save lives, which is why I’m thrilled to be a part of Justice Speaks!

AKC approval for certified CGC and Trick Dog evaluator.

OUR MISSION

To advance service dog rights through community education, business training, advocacy, and practical tools that improve access, reduce harm, and transform how society interacts with service dog teams.

OUR VISION

A world where every service dog team can move through life confidently—free from discrimination, interruption, fear, or injustice.

OUR VALUES

  • Inclusiveness: We are respectful by embracing intersectionality of all individuals with their unique backgrounds.

  • Learning: We foster an environment of continuous learning with a growth mindset.

  • Guidance: We have strength in the service of others and believe whole-heartedly in human rights.

  • Compassion: We believe in non-judgment so that we can appreciate others’ perspectives when they are different from your own.

  • Integrity: We do what is right guided by honesty, accountability and sincerity.

We at Justice Speaks promise to provide the foundation of learning opportunities for citizens to proactively mitigate discrimination towards people with service dogs and to provide connections to resources that support people with service dogs.

At Justice Speaks, our ultimate goal for each learning opportunity is to build citizen disability rights advocates at all ages, levels of education and beyond with expansion into developing workplace business training. Ideally, the Justice Speaks service animal curriculum will become a required course of social emotional learning with the Colorado Department of Education and/or Employee Training. Our belief is that through education, awareness of better practices regarding service animals will follow.

Our organization brings together people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds – all with different skills, experiences and viewpoints. Diversity embodies all the differences that make us unique individuals. Justice Speaks is committed to the implementation and promotion of equal opportunities and to ensuring an absence of direct discrimination, indirect discrimination or harassment on grounds of race, color, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, religion or belief. Underlying our policy is our intention that every individual should be accorded equal dignity and respect and be judged on merit and ability alone, free from judgements or treatment based on prejudice or assumptions of collective characteristics. To this end, our policy provides a framework for the internal resolution of complaints and the promotion of equal opportunities and diversity in every aspect of our work. We promote an inclusive work environment, guided by mutual respect, openness, honesty and the spirit of trust and cooperation, in order to attain the highest possible productivity, creativity and efficiency. It enables us to deliver inclusively innovative services that make our program successful. We believe that everyone at Justice Speaks can contribute to our joint success. Justice Speaks is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive curriculum.

USFCR Verified Vendor

Education

Justice Speaks has carefully crafted and patented a Pre-K through 12th Grade curriculum with easy to follow directions for presenters, educators and students. This curriculum, titled “Your Guide for Forming and Informing Citizen Advocates for Service Animals,” is designed to create and inform the students who will be our future citizen advocates. The lesson plans outline the role of the teacher and provides engaging activities that build on and reinforce what came before. Our goal is to expose children to alternate lifestyles and special needs to help them respond with compassion and understanding when they encounter service dogs in the real world.

The future of Justice Speaks is ambitious and heading full steam ahead. Based on academic research and the advice of the Colorado Department of Education the following curricula are scheduled to be created and launched in the next few years:  

  • Elementary grade school levels 1st through 4th grades
  • Middle School levels 5th through 8th grades
  • High School levels 9th-12th grades
  • Post-Secondary 
  • Employee Training for Businesses 

Nondiscrimination Policy

Revised September 2023

Positive Impact 2 DBA Justice Speaks does not discriminate against any person or organization based on age, race, sex, color, creed, religion, national origin, native language, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, gender, veteran status, military status, political service, affiliation, or disability.