Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, assisting with a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, state and federal law guarantees that Service Dogs have access anywhere except such places as operating rooms or burn centers where the presence of an animal may compromise a sterile environment.

Head and Heart Service Dogs provide our highly trained dogs to people in need free of charge. The recipient is required to cover only the cost of food and veterinarian needs. We can assist with these costs if needed.

Head and Heart Service Dogs acquire our dogs from multiple sources, including rescues, shelters, breeders, and release dogs from other programs. We don’t care about breed, where a dog is from, or what it looks like. We only care about its ability to do the job and change a life.

If you have a physical or mental disability or are hearing impaired, we can provide a dog to help you in your everyday life.

Click here to apply now! If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Head and Heart Service Dogs employ ONLY positive reinforcement and never use any aversive methods. We start by searching for and testing puppies for the qualities that form the foundation of an excellent Service Dog. They are then placed with a volunteer Foster Trainer who helps care for the dogs in our program. With the constant guidance of our training staff, the dogs move from one foster to another every few weeks so that they learn to work with a wide variety of handlers, and our fosters gain a great deal of experience working with a variety of dogs. The trainers will come as often as needed to work with the dog and Foster Trainer to guide the team in building proper behavior, properly and carefully introducing them to any and all environments, and teaching them the tasks that they will need once they are placed. Once a dog graduates to advanced training, the dog is paired with a recipient and then taught the specific needs of their person, and the recipient is trained in how to handle and use the dog. When the person and dog are ready, they will take a public access test and graduate as a certified Service Dog Team.

We will be available at all times to assist you throughout your working partnership. We provide continuing training and supervision to make sure that the dog is meeting our high standards. The Service Dog Team needs to be recertified annually. We are here to support you for your entire journey.

The dog is owned by Head and Heart Service Dogs for the entire length of the dog’s working life. We decide on questions of health, what the dog eats, where they can go, and how the dog is treated and trained. When the dog begins to slow due to age and cannot satisfactorily complete its tasks, it is retired and adopted to a loving household where it no longer works but enjoys its retirement as a happy and loved pet. The recipient will be furnished with another dog upon the dog’s retirement.

The non-profit Service Dog World’s very foundation is built on the kindness and selflessness of its volunteers. Whether you want to help with events, develop our brand, fundraise, work with our dogs, foster, or train, we would be thrilled to have you on board for however much time you can offer. Collaborating with so many amazing people to provide a Service Dog to a person in need is a noble and worthwhile cause that changes the lives of everyone involved. If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, we can’t wait to meet you. Click here to learn more!