Paws4people®️
Applicant Eligibility Requirements
paws4people® Applicant Eligibility Requirements to Apply for an Assistance Dog.
Applicants for a Service Dog: [Facility Dog Applicants, please see below]
- must be at least 6 years of age at time of application,
- who are under the age of 18 years old, MUST have Parental Consent” to apply,
- under the age of 16 can not be the Primary Handler of the dog. Therefore, a parent, guardian, etc. must be willing and able to serve in this role. This means the person who is going to be the dog’s Primary Handle must be trained and certified to handle the dog, before the person under the age of 16 is trained to handle the dog.
Note: Due to the effects of a particular diagnosis, the applicant may never be able to be the dog’s Primary Handler,
- must have at least one documented medical or mental health diagnosis and an active treatment team in support of that diagnosis (Note1: If the applicant has multiple diagnoses, they ALL must be disclosed. Note2: Moral Injury is considered a viable diagnoses),
- medical or mental health diagnosis resulting from a traumatic event(s) shall be given preference,
- must be under the care of a licensed medical or mental health professional who is willing to provide what is known as a “Letter of Medical Necessity” attesting to the diagnosis and stating that in their medical/professional opinion that the applicant would receive benefit for having a Service Dog,
- must be under the care of a licensed medical or mental health professional who is willing to participate in the application and training processes,
- must be “sober” for at least 6-months, and will continue to be “sober”, if the Applicant has a history of any “chemical” dependency (w/the exception of nicotine),
- must be willing and able to travel to Wilmington, North Carolina for all required training, the frequency of which is determined by the program for which the Applicant is selected, and, the Applicant’s capabilities to learn how to use his/her dog to Control, Regulate and Mitigate® his/her symptom set(s),
- must agree to abide by and follow ALL paws4people® Policies & Procedures, Manuals, Contracts, and use of the dog for its intended purposes [Note: all P&P, Manuals, Contracts will be provided to the applicant during their application process, for their review.], and,
- must be able to meet the physical and financial needs to care for a paws4people Service Dog per paws4people® Standards and Requirements.
Applicants for a Service Dog: shall be designated into one of the three following categories:
- paws4vetsTM Service Dog Placement Program – Active-duty Service Members (who are within 6-mothes of retirement and/or in the “Med-Board” Process pending discharge), Retired or Honorable Discharge Veterans and Active-duty dependents
- paws4FirstRespondersTM Service Dog Placement Program – Retired or former Law Enforcement, Retired or former Firefighter, Retired or former EMT/EMSs, and/or other Retired or former Emergency Response personnel
- paws4people® Service Dog Placement Program – Civilians
Applicants for a Facility Dog:
- must be a practicing professional in a field in which a Facility Dog can safely and effectively be used, and
- must be “sober” for at least 6-months, and will continue to be “sober”, if the Applicant has a history of any “chemical” dependency (w/the exception of nicotine),
- must be willing and able to travel to Wilmington, North Carolina for all required training, the frequency of which is determined by the program for which the Applicant is requesting the Facility Dog.
- must agree to abide by and follow ALL paws4people® Policies & Procedures, Manuals, Contracts, and use of the dog for its intended purposes [Note: all P&P, Manuals, Contracts will be provided to the applicant during their application process, for their review.], and,
- must be able to meet the physical and financial needs to care for a paws4people Service Dog per paws4people® Standards and Requirements.
- must have the approval of the organization in which the Facility Dog will be handled, including the required renumeration for training required within the facility in which the dog will be working.
