Shelter to Service matches participants with psychiatric service dogs, facility animals, and emotional support animals. This personalized matching service connects each applicant with an animal who will complement their lifestyle and help them achieve their goals. Additionally, Shelter to Service now offers psychiatric service dog training for personal dogs.

Through the power of the human-animal bond, these smart, loving animals help people diagnosed with emotional and mental health conditions find a new leash on life.

“[Shelter to Service] is by far the most powerful intervention we’ve tried with this Veteran in the six years I’ve been working with him.”
– David, Veterans’ Mental Health Professional

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Psychiatric service dog matching and training for personal dogs is available to any eligible applicant with a diagnosed mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and more. Facility dog matching is available to any facilitator applicant working in a professional healthcare or educational setting. Personalized emotional support animal matching is available to any applicant with a letter of recommendation from their licensed mental healthcare provider.

Joybound’s Shelter to Service program was launched in 2011 as a service providing free pet adoptions to U.S. military Veterans. Since then, it has evolved to harness the human-animal bond in so many more ways.

Psychiatric Service Dog Matching

Get paired with a specially trained psychiatric service dog.

Facility Animal Matching

Find a hard-working facility animal for your professional facility.

Personal Psychiatric Service Dog Training

Turn your canine companion into so much more.

Volunteer Foster Training

Put a dog on the path towards a meaningful and fulfilling future.

Emotional Support Animal Matching

Adopt the perfect dog or cat for your specific needs.

Shelter to Service Donations

These life-changing programs are made possible by supporters like you.

Types of Assistance & Support Animals

From highly trained psychiatric service animals to companion pets, Joybound dogs and cats connect with humans in a wide variety of ways. While any animal can provide much-needed companionship, the unique qualities of our assistance and support animals make each of them a lifeline to those battling mental health challenges, drastically enhancing their independence and emotional stability.

Here is a look at some of the different types of assistance and support you might find, each of whom fits a specific set of criteria and has unique privileges in the community:

Psychiatric Service Dogs

Service dogs, including psychiatric service dogs, are trained in specific tasks to assist a person with a disability. Psychiatric service dogs are allowed anywhere their handlers are permitted, such as a movie theater, hospital, or restaurant. They are highly trained and socialized to be safe and unobtrusive in public.

Shelter to Service can match qualifying applicants with a psychiatric service dog, or help them train their personal pet to be a psychiatric service dog.

Facility Animals

Facility dogs and cats are trained in specific tasks to work alongside professionals and assist their clients. These clients include those in a healthcare, visitation, or educational setting. Their skills help improve client outcomes. Facility animals are allowed in the handler’s workplace, but not in other public places that are normally off limits to pets.

Shelter to Service can match qualifying applicants with a facility animal for their facility.

Therapy Animals

Therapy dogs and cats are certified pets who provide comfort to many people. They can visit people in places like libraries, schools, hospitals, or other settings, but are not allowed in public places that are normally off limits to pets. They only wear their therapy animal vests during approved visits.

If you want to share your pet’s love with people in need, consider joining Joybound’s Pet Hug Pack® visiting volunteer therapy animal program.

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

Emotional support dogs and cats provide comfort to people with mental health conditions. Due to the Fair Housing Act, ESAs are allowed in housing, even if the property has a “no-pet” policy. They are not allowed in public places that are normally off limits to pets.

Shelter to Service can match qualifying applicants with an emotional support animal.

Companion Animals / Pets

Companion animals bring love and happiness to their families, without any special training or jobs. They are not allowed in public places that are normally off limits to pets.

Take a look at the animals currently available for adoption at Joybound!

Assistance Dog Candidates

Assistance dog candidates work with Joybound’s volunteer foster trainers, guided by our experienced Shelter to Service team. Program candidates train with these amazing volunteer for 15 weeks, working on foundational training and exposure to prepare them for assisting an individual or a facility staff member.

Interested in training a psychiatric service dog or facility animal candidate as a volunteer foster trainer? 15 weeks in your care can put a dog on the path towards a meaningful and fulfilling future!

Is an Assistance or Support Animal Right for You?

Imagine how an assistant or support animal could impact your life! Learn more about the Shelter to Service program and submit your application to get started!

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General Program Eligibility Requirements

Each different type of Shelter to Service service has individual eligibility requirements for applicants. More information is available on their specific program pages. But all applicants must have the following qualifications.

Applicants must live in a stable, personal residence.
Applicants must demonstrate willingness and ability to provide proper care and a safe home environment for a dog for their lifespan.
Applicants must be at least 16 years or older.
Applicants must submit a copy of their photo ID.
Applicants must be willing and able to travel by car to our Walnut Creek campus.

Questions?

Questions? Read our Shelter to Service FAQs or contact the Shelter to Service team at [email protected] for more information.

Shelter to Service FAQs

🌟 Where does Joybound rescue its animals?

We intake dogs and cats from public shelters to provide relief and give more animals a second chance at a healthy, fulfilling life.

🌟 Where is Shelter to Service located?

Joybound’s Shelter to Service program is located at Joybound People & Pets’ national headquarters and adoption center at 2890 Mitchell Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. The 7,893 square foot Engelstad Shelter to Service Center is a safe space for handler-dog teams to gather, learn, train, and socialize with group and simulated home training rooms, program offices, kennels, gathering space, and more.

We are interested in partnering with ambitious, established nonprofit animal shelters and Veteran services organizations to bring the Shelter to Service model to other regions of the country.

🌟 What services does Shelter to Service offer?

Joybound’s Shelter to Service program provides psychiatric service dog matching, facility animal matching, psychiatric service dog training for personal dogs, personalized emotional support animal matching, and the opportunity to learn how to train these types of animals through vocational volunteer foster training.

Apply today!

🌟 When will I hear back from Shelter to Service?

After an application has been submitted, our Shelter to Service team should be in touch within one week.

🌟 How do I refer someone to the program?

If you know someone who might benefit from an emotional support animal, facility animal, or psychiatric service dog, our team would love to talk to them and help understand their challenges. Interested parties may reach out to [email protected] for more information.

🌟 Can I adopt an emotional support animal?

Any animal adopted from Joybound can qualify as an emotional support animal with a letter of recommendation from the adopter’s licensed mental healthcare provider. However, Shelter to Service offers a personalized ESA matching experience which includes some prior foundational training for emotional support dogs.

🌟 Does Joybound offer veterinary services to Veterans’ pets?

We believe in the power of the human-animal bond, and that cost of care should never keep Veterans from this benefit. We offer free veterinary wellness clinics by appointment to assist Veterans who may depend on their pets for emotional support and/or psychiatric assistance. Spay/neuter services are scheduled for Veteran clients as needed. Learn more about how to make an appointment and the type of veterinary care Joybound provides.

Additionally, with a letter of recommendation from a licensed mental health care provider, Veterans can be matched with (and adopt) emotional support animals at no cost.

🌟 Can I train my own dog through Shelter to Service?

The Shelter to Service program now offers psychiatric service dog training for personal dogs and their guardians who meet our program’s eligibility requirements (outlined in the Shelter to Service program application).

🌟 What kind of shelter is Joybound?

Joybound People & Pets (formerly Animal Rescue Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization founded in 1991 to rescue dogs and cats from overcrowded municipal shelters and strengthen the human-animal bond for children, seniors, Veterans, first responders, and people in need. Read about our unique dual mission and origin story.

Our team is committed to finding homes for all healthy and treatable dogs and cats in our care. Animals with treatable medical or behavior conditions are evaluated and cared for prior to rehoming them. Learn more about these classifications by reviewing Maddie’s Fund’s Health & Behavior Categories for Shelter Animals. Potential adopters are provided with all health and behavior history during their time at Joybound.

🌟 How is Joybound funded?

We are a non-profit organization that is funded by private donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Complete financial information is available here.

🌟 How do I donate to Shelter to Service?

Donations of any amount make a lifesaving difference for animals and people. Make a secure online donation and direct your gift to the Shelter to Service program, or to donate by mail, please send a check to Joybound People & Pets, 2890 Mitchell Dr., Walnut Creek, CA, 94598.

There are many other ways to donate, including stock, vehicle donations, planned giving, workplace giving, and more.

Shelter to Service