We would like to thank the American Legion Auxiliary Newport Harbor Unit for their interest and support of our Service Dog Program. Since we currently train service dogs for veterans and first responders, this was a wonderful match. Tahoe, our latest service dog was the guest of honor.

The actual cost for a fully trained service dog is about $30,000. This amount includes the various expenses associated with the basic obedience program, specialized medical screenings as well as our advanced service dog training program which can last an extra 9-18 mont following the Basic Obedience training program. .

Once a proper client has been identified for a service dog, they must participate in a two-week Partnership Training Program, which involves personalized training with their service dog-in-training. The goal of Partnership Training is to certify the working pair for public access. The above cost also covers the Partnership Training.

We understand that this amount can be prohibitive, so we work with our community partners, like the ALA Unit 291, to have financial aid available for qualifying individuals. Thank you for supporting this important work.

Those, who want to find out more, we have created a new tab to read about our service dogs: both in training, and already at work.