Seven diverse service dog teams sit around a large wooden restaurant table, convivially smiling at the camera.

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We’re a community of experienced and friendly service dog users, and we’re happy to have you here. All of us are volunteers, and many of us have had a paw in changing the world for disability rights. We share what we’ve learned because we genuinely want to help you avoid mistakes and have service dog successes!

We have resources for everyone who wants to know about service dogs. Use our menu or search bar to find what you’re looking for—and please contact us if you’d like to interact.

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Quickest answers:

  • In the US, a service animal is a dog that helps a disabled individual through trained work or tasks; service dog teams can go practically anywhere the public can, without restrictions based on whether the person looks disabled or what their disability is

  • An emotional support animal is not necessarily trained, but helps their disabled person by being there; ESAs can live with their disabled person in no-pet housing

  • Therapy animals are pets that go places to bring joy or comfort to multiple people; they are not disability accommodations and need permission to be in no-pets places

  • A service dog is a disability accommodation, like a wheelchair—businesses generally can’t charge extra, refuse entry, or require documentation/ID, but service dogs must behave at least as well as a child

  • Some service dogs are trained by programs, but in the US and many places around the world, disabled people have the right to train their own service dogs

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5 star review: Having a Service Dog has changed my life completely. Agoraphobia kept me trapped inside my home for 4 years until I discovered how a Psychiatric Service Dog could help me. Training a Service Dog is not an easy task but with an organization like PSDP to provide education and support it can be much easier[...]I have not come across another organization that offers so much information and assistance to people who are often taking their very first steps toward having a fuller life, by having a Service Dog by their side. –BernerPSD's review on Great Nonprofits

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dogs saving lives

Eight service dog teams smile at the camera with a small-town street corner at their backs. There is a wide variety of dog breeds and sizes.
Two white woman stand next to each other and smile into the camera. They have matching leashes. The woman on the left has a small white and black dog with a smushed nose and googley eyes. The woman on the right has a black labradoodle. The dogs have on matching vests in different colors. The labradoodle's vest is teal, while the small dog's vest is purple.
In a hardware store, a white woman wearing a mask bends down and pats her Sheltie, who wears a service dog vest. They stand on the side of a large platform cart with long 2 by 4 wood planks on it.
In black and white, two service dog handlers walk away from the camera toward an airport security checkpoint.
Brown haired woman with glasses, wearing green pants and a striped shirt, stands in a bowling alley holding an orange bowling ball with her black and white, border collie service dog, wearing a purple vest, keeping a close eye on her.
A black pit bull mix licks the face of a white woman with purple and blue hair. She smiles in response.
Colin is sitting in a rowboat with a golden retriever, Lyla, in a green lagoon, facing the camera. He is a young man and has dark brown hair, light skin, and is wearing a red life jacket, jeans, a black mask under his chin, and a burgundy shirt. Lyla has a medium gold coat. Lyla and Colin are both smiling with eyes closed in happiness while Colin puts his arm around Lyla.
Masked person lies in hospital bed with electrodes and wires on their head. Black and white service dog wearing a red bandana sits next to handler, looking on.
A white woman wearing a pale red shirt and orange pumpkin mask sits on a bale of hay with Olive, a blond puppy, in her lap.
People and dogs stand and sit in a wide aisle of a grocery store around a woman with a small dog who is explaining something to the small group.
A white man with a beard in a striped white shirt and denim shorts and a navy ball cap sits in a white rocking chair while petting his service dog, an English Cream Golden Retriever, who has a red, white, and blue bandana around his neck. They are sitting together on the front porch of a house.
A woman with shorts and a tshirt walks across a city street with a tan Labradoodle. Next to her is a woman in a dress and leggings and her small Japanese Chin.
Tracey, a fat woman with short hair in a purple shirt and a purple cast on her arm, sits in a passenger seat in a replica of an old plane. She holds Mystique, a 16lb Boston Terrier in her arms.
A white woman smiles while sitting at a coffee bar in a grocery store with her Doberman service dog lying down calmly at the feet of her tall chair.
A white woman in a maroon floral open-sleeve shirt and glasses looks down lovingly at the Labrador Retriever in her lap.
On a snow-clad hill-track, a woman in snowshoes and a goldendoodle next to her look into each others eyes.
Elaine, an older woman, sits holding her violin underneath huge shade trees while Yvie, a Sheltie, looks for passing squirrels.
A woman wearing a backpack sits at a large aquarium and points out the fish to a dog in a service dog vest with its paws up on the bench.
Autumn outdoor photo of a smiling middle aged woman, with shoulder length graying hair, and glasses in a grey tshirt and pants, and a black shoulder sling, sitting on a boulder, with a black golden doodle standing in front of her.
Man with hat, glasses, and walking pole sits on high-speed train next to black and white American Shepherd service dog.
A Golden Retriever in a vest sits with its paws up, held by a woman's outstretched hands.