Your journey within Susquehanna Service Dogs starts here. Whether you’re looking to get an assistance dog or facility dog or become a volunteer, you’ll find a way to connect.
To begin the process of applying for an assistance, facility, or companion dog, complete the application request form. Please allow 15 business days for us to review your request.
To begin the process of applying for an assistance, facility, in-home, or companion dog, complete the application request form. Please allow 15 business days for us to review your request.
Susquehanna Service Dogs trains and places mobility assistance dogs, autism service dogs for adults and children, psychiatric service dogs for veterans and non-veterans, hearing dogs, seizure response dogs, facility dogs, in-home service dogs, and companion dogs.
Our program breeds primarily Labrador Retrievers with a very limited number of Golden Retrievers and Lab Golden crosses. Dogs are approximately two years old at the time of placement. We carefully select our dogs to have a calm temperament and a solid health history.
To apply for an assistance dog through our program, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:
All applicants are considered regardless of race, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, or ethnic origin. Children must be at least 5 years old at the time of application and parents/guardians must support having an assistance, in-home service, or companion dog for the child.
It costs Susquehanna Service Dogs over $30,000 to breed, train, place, and provide lifetime support for each dog placed. However, our assistance and facility dogs are available to partners for a $5,000 fee for service. In-home service dogs are $3,000, and a companion dog costs $2,000. A limited number of partial need-based scholarships are available for residents of Pennsylvania based on federal poverty guidelines and total taxable household income.
To begin the process of applying for an assistance, facility, in-home service, or companion dog, complete the application request form. Please allow 15 business days for us to review your request.
You will then be notified by email about the status of your request. If you meet the minimum eligibility requirements, you will receive a formal application along with additional details regarding the application process.
Our waiting list for an assistance dog or hearing dog is currently 3 to 4 years. Waiting time for a facility, in-home service, or companion dog may be shorter, depending on the number of applicants. We will work closely with you to find a dog that best matches your needs and lifestyle.
Please review our eligibility requirements before submitting an application request. Please note that we do not train or place dogs to do guide work for the blind; to do seizure or diabetic alert; to anticipate or detect medical symptoms; to primarily provide emotional comfort or social support; to provide supervision, navigation, or safety from environmental hazards; or to provide personal protection. Our program does not permit tethering an individual and dog to prevent elopement.
Our volunteers make it possible for us to breed, raise, train, and place life-changing assistance dogs. We currently have over 400 volunteers who collectively give over 40,000 hours each month to our program. Whether they’re raising puppies or painting a fence, volunteers are making a difference and helping to change lives.
Make a difference and change lives by raising a puppy! Puppy raisers welcome a 9-week-old puppy into their home to socialize and train for 15-18 months. No experience is necessary. We will teach you everything you need to know about raising an assistance dog.
We ask that you live within an hour’s drive of Grantville, PA; Center City, Philadelphia, PA; or State College, PA.
Raiser Responsibilities
Susquehanna Service Dogs covers all veterinary costs and provides monthly heartworm, flea, and tick preventatives.
Application Process
Please be patient throughout the process of becoming a puppy raiser. Our goal is to set both our raisers and puppies up for success, and we work hard to match a puppy’s temperament with a raiser’s lifestyle. It may take some time before you receive a puppy to raise, but the wait will be worth it!
Our Campus Puppy Raising Programs give college students a unique opportunity to raise assistance dogs and change the lives of others. Both students and dogs benefit. Students gain responsibility and enhance their time management and leadership skills, while dogs in training become well-socialized and enriched by their surroundings.
Just like any other puppy raiser, students raise a puppy for 15-18 months. They attend puppy classes, teach the puppies good house manners and basic skills and cues, and take the dogs on outings to new and interesting places.
We will work students and college administrators to develop puppy raising programs that best fit students and the structure of the college. For more information about starting a program on your campus, email [email protected].
Availability: Within a 2-hour radius of Grantville, PA
Current Campus Puppy Raising Programs
Raiser Responsibilities
Please be patient throughout the process of becoming a puppy raiser. Our goal is to set both our raisers and puppies up for success, and we work hard to match a puppy’s temperament with a raiser’s lifestyle. It may take some time before you receive a puppy to raise, but the wait will be worth it!
Puppy sitting is a great way to get involved with our assistance dogs in training without the full-time commitment of raising a puppy.
Sitters play an important role in our dogs’ training. By watching one of our dogs for a short amount of time, you’ll give the dog valuable experiences in a new home and routine, which help make the dog’s transition to advanced training and their partners much smoother.
At-home Sitters
At-home sitters care for a dog in their home only, helping the dog practice good house manners and learn a new routine.
Full Access Sitters
In addition to helping our dogs practice good house manners and learn a new routine, full access sitters may take the dogs in public to continue practicing their skills in new places. Additional training is required.
Application Process
Once you’ve completed all of the requirements and are approved, you will be added to our email list. Whenever we have dogs in need of sitters, you will receive an email, and you can choose the sitting opportunities that work for you.
*The Puppy Building Blocks program is currently closed.
The time before the puppies join their raisers is vital to their development. You can be part of jumpstarting their training by assisting with specific activities to help boost their confidence and start their journey to assisting someone with a disability.
Instead of simply hugging the puppies, you will need to do specific tasks with them to provide enrichment and a good start to their service dog training. Under the supervision of an experienced volunteer, you will guide the puppies through the following activities:
Of course, you will still be able to take some time to snuggle with the puppies.
Guidelines
Sign Up
After you sign up online, you will be added to our puppy socialization email list. When we have puppies available, you will receive an email with instructions to reserve your spot. Please note that this is a very popular volunteer opportunity and spots fill up quickly.
You will be able to sign up once the program opens again.
SSD has many more ways for you to get involved. Some involve working with our dogs, while others don’t. Every opportunity plays an important role in moving our mission forward.
For more information about our other volunteer opportunities, contact Tricia Lingenfield at [email protected].
Property Maintenance
Volunteers help with everything from weeding the flower gardens to power washing the buildings.
Kennel Assistance
There are a variety of ways a volunteer can help keep our kennel in great shape – providing early morning cleaning help, giving the dogs a late evening potty break, filling Kong’s and bones with peanut butter, picking up poop in the play yard, dusting the kennel, vacuuming and washing vehicles, filling treat cups and treat dispensers, and more.
Canine Enrichment Program
Our Canine Enrichment Program ensures the dogs in advanced training spend a minimum of three hours per day experiencing mental, physical, or social stimulation in addition to their daily time working with a trainer. This program includes public training excursions, group dog play, decompression time with volunteers, and a variety of food puzzles and novel sounds and smells to activate various parts of the brain. This is a great opportunity for volunteers who are seeking hands-on work with the dogs but cannot keep a dog in their home. Additional training is required for this position. Apply Now!
Public Training
Public volunteers work with our dogs in advanced training during public outings to help the dogs practice their skills and tasks in real-life settings. Additional training is necessary for this position.
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