PRE-APPLICATION CHECK LIST

BEFORE APPLYING: THINGS TO KNOW

Freedom Service Dogs trains dogs for the following types of clients:

Individuals with physical disabilities such as paralysis, multiple sclerosis, stroke, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury (TBI), amputations, etc.

Veterans and First Responders who have been formally diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), TBI, or a physical disability as a result of their time in service.

- Veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD and also have anxiety or depression are welcome to apply.
Individuals with a formal autism diagnosis who are older than the age of 16.
- We are looking for individuals who have the desire and capability to be the primary handler of the service dog.
Mental health professionals who would like a facility dog to provide an animal assisted intervention in their therapeutic practices such as social workers, first responders, therapists, directors of mental health programs, etc.

Freedom Service Dogs is unable to provide service dogs at this time for the following conditions:

Low vision or individuals who are blind.
Individuals looking for a medical alert dog for a diagnosis such as diabetes, seizures, or severe allergies.
Individuals who are deaf.
Individuals with a mental health diagnosis such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc.
Non-military or first responder civilians diagnosed with PTSD.
Non-military or first responder civilians with anxiety and/or depression as their primary diagnosis.
Dogs for elopement, tracking, or water safety.
Individuals with a primary diagnosis of anxiety, depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder
- These conditions, however, can be comorbidities of diagnoses listed under Section 1 above.

Types of Assistance Dogs we provide:

Primary Handler Service Dog: A service dog is trained to perform a minimum of three custom tasks for a person with a disability. The dog is granted full public access. A service dog can be placed with a client that is at least 16 years of age or older and is capable of handling the dog in public without assistance.
Third Party Handler Service Dog: A third-party service dog is trained to perform a minimum of three custom tasks for a person with a disability. The dog is granted full public access providing that a parent or guardian is with the client at all times when in public. Third-party service dog service dogs are available to clients that are unable to handle a dog in public without assistance from a guardian or caregiver or occasionally for an individual under the age of 16.
Facility Dog: A facility dog is trained to perform custom tasks for a mental health professional that would like to engage in an animal assisted intervention in their workplace. The dog is NOT granted public access and must receive explicit permission to work in different environments. A facility dog can be placed with a client that is at least 18 years of age and has pre-approval & implementation plans set in place with their employer and/or building owner.
Skilled Companion Dog: A skilled companion dog is a dog that was released from formal training, but has been trained in basic obedience and could provide comfort around the home. The dog is NOT granted public access and should not be used for therapeutic purposes outside the home. A skilled companion can be placed with a first responder, active military, veteran, and gold star family. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SERVICE OR FACILITY DOG PLACEMENT.

BEFORE APPLYING: COLLECTING THE DOCUMENTS

* denotes documents that must be on file for your application to move forward.

Identify a medical personnel reference. *
- Our process requires a medical history form filled out by your primary care provider or mental health professional that has been directly assisting you for at least 6 months with the disability that you are applying for a service dog for. The application requires a valid name, phone numbers, address, email address, and signature be entered for your physician/mental health professional. The applicant will provide the blank medical health history form for their physician/mental health professional to fill out and send to our [email protected] email address.
Identify two emergency contacts. *
- These contacts will be responsible for caring for your assistance dog in the event that you are separated, hospitalized, or away for an extended period of time. The application requires valid names, phone numbers, and email addresses throughout your career with your service dog.
  - Service Dog Placements: You will want to identify two trusted individuals that you trust would be willing to take on an additional responsibility in case of emergency.
  - Facility Dog Placements: You will want to identify one person in your personal life and one person in your professional life to be your emergency contact depending on the situation and context of the emergency.
Identify two references to fill out a letter of recommendation on your behalf.*
- Service Dog Placements: You will need to provide one personal and one professional letter of recommendation on your application.
- Facility Dog References: You will need to provide a letter of recommendation from your direct supervisor. A FSD Client Services member will identify who the best person for your recommendation would be depending on the type of facility placement.
A photo of yourself. This will be posted to your client tracker in our system.*
Basic financial information. *
For PTSD Assist applicants: You will be asked to provide a legible copy of your DD214 (Member 4 copy) and/or proof of employment as a first responder. *

THE APPLICATION: WHAT TO EXPECT

The application is lengthy, so please allow plenty of time to get through all of the questions. We estimate that it will take approximately two hours to complete.
If you are completing this application on behalf of another individual, please complete it as the individual receiving the assistance dog.
You will have the ability to save your progress as you complete the application. To save your progress, please click the “Save my progress and resume later” button located at the top of the page that you are currently working on. Make sure that you have your email address and password accessible so that you may login to complete your application at a later date.
Once you have finished entering your information, please click the Submit button located at the bottom of the page.

AFTER APPLYING: WHAT’S NEXT?

Upon submitting your application, our Client Services Team will begin reviewing it. Any outstanding items that are required for the application will delay this process.
Once we have all the items, we have several processes to conduct including a background check of all adults over the age of 18 who currently reside in your home. Please allow time for those processes to be completed.
If you are an appropriate candidate, you will receive a request for an interview. In this interview, we will continue to ask questions pertaining to you, your needs, and your preferences.

Please do not start the service dog application until you have all the required materials and are ready to spend several hours completing it.

Start Service Dog Application