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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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