To date, I have applied to over thirty service dog programs. Number thirty-six was one of the few programs to accept me as a client and SD handler, and they’re the program I’m going to be using. (The other two programs which did accept me didn’t work out for various reasons.) It’s taken a lot of work to finally find a program to work with, and more than a little patience.
It seems so simple, really: just apply and wait to hear back– surely someone would accept me out of the dozens of programs that exist in the United States! Some programs simply ignored my application, or phone call, or email. Others wrote back to tell me that they would not work with someone who had my diagnosis, or they could not/would not train the tasks that I knew I needed a service dog to do. It was pretty discouraging, to be honest.
Almost exactly two years after I started the search, I found my program. Based out of Boulder, CO, they’re just getting started as a non-profic, one of the few I’ve seen. This program only asks the handler to pay their own transportation and lodging to and from Team Training, when I’ll spend two weeks learning to work with my new service dog. They are looking for a SD candidate right now for me, along with putting up with my multiple “helpful” suggestions of dogs I come across.
Sunshine on Four Feet 