Shelter to Service offers a free, personalized matching service to connect each applicant with an animal who will complement their lifestyle and help them achieve their goals. Unlike similar service dog programs costing thousands of dollars and involving long wait lists, our team matches participants with psychiatric service dogs and facility animals quickly and at no cost.
“[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. This is exactly what we’d hoped for.”
– David, Veterans’ Mental Health Professional

Psychiatric Service Dogs

Facility Animals

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Psychiatric Service Dogs
Psychiatric Service Dog Matching
Service dog candidates are carefully assessed and selected to meet each handler’s needs. While our team takes applicants’ preferences into consideration (breed, size, energy level, etc.), Shelter to Service prioritizes matching candidates that best fit the participant’s described lifestyle when screening dogs for qualities including focus, confidence, affiliation with handlers, calmness, and response to reward-based training.
Psychiatric Service Dog Training for Personal Dogs
Shelter to Service now offers psychiatric service dog training for individuals with a personal dog who meet our program eligibility requirements. Personal dogs are carefully assessed for their potential for psychiatric service work before being admitted into the training program. Our team evaluates personal dogs for qualities including focus, confidence, affiliation with handlers, calmness, and response to reward-based training. Please note that applicants must submit their personal dog’s spay/neuter and current vaccination records as well as any prior training certifications earned when applying.
Eligibility for Psychiatric Service Dogs
- 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 natural lifespan.
- Applicants must submit a copy of their photo ID.
- Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from their licensed mental healthcare provider, written within the last year. Please note that our program manager will be following up with the provider to confirm ongoing support. This letter must include:
- The applicant’s name.
- The date the letter was written.
- The state the mental healthcare provider is licensed in.
- How long the applicant has been under the mental healthcare provider’s care.
- The applicant’s specific need for a service dog.
- What the service dog would do for the applicant.
- (If applicant’s housing is a rental) The applicant’s need for an emotional support animal.
- The licensed mental healthcare provider’s signature and printed name.
- The mental healthcare provider’s license number and title.
- The mental healthcare provider’s contact info and physical address.
- Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from a family member. This letter must include:
- The date the letter was written.
- Their relationship to the applicant.
- How long they have known the applicant.
- How the applicant would benefit from the assistance of a service dog
- Confirmation that the applicant has the capacity and physical ability to consistently train and care for a service dog.
- Their name and signature.
- Their contact information.
- Applicants must be willing and able to travel to our Walnut Creek campus to attend the following:
- 3 day orientation (1 hour per day for 3 consecutive days)
- Hand-off training classes (2-hour training classes, 5 days per week, for 2 weeks)
- Foundational training classes (1-hour training classes, twice per week, for a minimum of 2½ months)
- Applicants are responsible for training and handling their dog in adherence to our guided program in order to meet the expectations required for graduation.
- Applicants under the age of 18 must have their application filled out by a parent or guardian.
Facility Animals
Facility animals are specially trained dogs and cats that work alongside a facilitator in healthcare, visitation, or educational settings. A Shelter to Service facility dog is skilled in facility dog commands and can be used to enhance therapies, encourage participation, and reduce anxiety for clients in professional environments.

Eligibility for Facility Animals
- 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 or cat for their natural lifespan.
- Applicants must submit a copy of their photo ID.
- Applicants must submit a letter of approval from a facility supervisor.
- Applicants must be willing and able to travel to our Walnut Creek campus to attend the following:
- 3 day orientation (1 hour per day for 3 consecutive days)
- Hand-off training classes (2-hour training classes, 5 days per week, for 2 weeks)
- Foundational training classes (1-hour training classes, twice per week, for a minimum of 2½ months)
- Applicants are responsible for training and handling their dog in adherence to our guided program in order to meet the expectations required for graduation.
Emotional Support Animals
Emotional support animals (ESAs) provide many therapeutic benefits, including reducing anxiety, stress, symptoms of depression, and more. While different from trained service dogs, ESAs have access to pet-prohibited housing (Fair Housing Act) and can be very useful in helping in the treatment of mental and emotional disabilities.

Shelter to Service provides a personal matching experience for applicants looking to adopt an emotional support cat or an emotional support dog with some prior foundational training. Once an application has been submitted and reviewed, an appropriate dog or cat will be evaluated, chosen, and matched with the adopter, helping to ensure that the ESA is a good fit for both the home environment and therapeutic goals of the adopter. A nominal adoption fee is charged for this service.
Eligibility for Emotional Support Animals
- Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from their licensed mental healthcare provider, written within the last year. Please note that our program manager will be following up with the provider to confirm ongoing support. This letter must include:
- The applicant’s name.
- The date the letter was written.
- The state the mental healthcare provider is licensed in.
- How long the applicant has been under the mental healthcare provider’s care.
- The applicant’s specific need for an ESA.
- The licensed mental healthcare provider’s signature and printed name.
- The mental healthcare provider’s license number and title.
- The mental healthcare provider’s contact info and physical address.
- Applicants under the age of 18 must have their application filled out by a parent or guardian.
Additional Veterans’ Benefits
Veteran adopters are provided with a supply of preventative medications and additional supplies from Pet Food Express. Additionally, with a letter of recommendation from a licensed mental health care provider, Veterans can be matched with (an adopt) emotional support animals at no cost. Due to these added benefits, there are a few additional requirements for admission into the program.
Eligibility for Veterans’ Services
As Veterans qualify for additional support in the Shelter to Service program, including free basic veterinary wellness care. Veterans must provide evidence of service through an acceptable form of military identification. The following documents are accepted:
- Military I.D. card
- VA health identification card
- Discharge paperwork with matching photo identification
- Department of Defense Form 214 (DD-214)
Meet Some Current Teams

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Your gift will connect service dog candidates with individuals with mental or emotional health conditions and will help place facility animal candidates to assist staff and clients meet their goals in facility settings. Your generosity makes it possible for us to provide animal placement and professional training at little to no cost.
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