Paws4people®️

Applicants for certification of a Service Dog:

• must have a dog that meets the paws4people evaluation standards of a privately owned dog.
• must be at least 6 years of age at time of application,
  
  Note 1: Applicants who are under the age of 18 years old, MUST have Parental Consent” to apply, 
  

  Applicants under the age of 14 cannot 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 14 is trained to handle the dog.

  Note 2: All applicants, regardless of age, are assessed for handling abilities. Due to the effects of a particular diagnosis, an 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.
  Note 1: If the applicant has multiple diagnoses, all must be disclosed.
  Note 2: Moral Injury is considered a viable diagnosis.

• 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” [LOMN] attesting to the diagnosis and stating that in their medical/professional opinion that the applicant would benefit from having a Service Dog, and who is willing to participate in our application and training processes.

• must be “sober” for at least 6 months and must maintain sobriety.
  Note: If the Applicant has any history of any “chemical” dependency, with the exception of nicotine, then the Applicant must meet this criteria.

• must be willing and able to travel to Wilmington, North Carolinafor all required training: the frequency of which is determined by the program for which the Applicant is selected.

• must be willing and capable of learning 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 paws4people, Manuals, Contracts, etc. will be provided to the applicant during their application process, for their review.

• must be able to meet the physical and financial requirements for training and certification with paws4people.