Service Dogs, Therapy Animals, and More
One of my neighbors asked me if I knew of any therapy or service dog agencies or trainers in our Roseville Sacramento area.
I didn’t. So, of course, I dug in and did some research. In case you ever have that question for yourself or someone you care about, here’s what I found out.
As you may already know, there is a wide variety of therapy/service dogs. Generally, therapy dogs go to hospitals and homes and visit sick patients including those with disabilities, those on hospice, etc. These are just short visits to encourage them. They even have therapy dogs at the Sacramento International Airport. (I had fun getting to meet one there. 😉 )
Therapy Animals
There are several of therapy animal groups in our area. Some of these may be for you to volunteer for taking your dog out. Others to request a visit.
Local Area Resources for Therapy Dogs
- Pet Partners – PetPartners.org/
- Lend a Heart – Lend a Hand Animal-Assisted Therapy, Inc. Facebook – @LendAHeartAAT
- Paws on Call Pet Therapy at Sutter Hospital – SutterMedicalCenter.org/volunteer/Pet.html The SacBee shared about them in this article.
- SPCA Love On Loan – therapy pet services for seniors over 65 (I’m not sure if just Sacramento or if it includes Roseville/Placer County) – SSPCA.org/program-services/senior-services/
- Placer County SPCA SOS program – help for Placer County residents to keep their companion animals in difficult times.
National Resources for Therapy Dogs
- AKC list of therapy organizations – AKC.org
- Therapy Dogs International – www.TDI-dog.org/
- Alliance of Therapy Dogs – www.TherapyDogs.com/
Service Dogs
There are also, of course, service therapy dogs who live with the person who needs them. These range from guide dogs for the blind to epilepsy dogs to therapy dogs for PTSD to those trained to deal with other types of disabilities and more.
Here are trainers/providers I found in our area, in our state, or further afield for those able to travel to them for training.
Local Area Service Dogs
- Trained Labrador Retrievers – Browns Valley (530 area code so in our greater area) – TrainedRetrievers.com/ – Facebook – @trained-labrador-retrievers
- Dog Training for Owners – Folsom – El Dorado Hills – DogTrainingForOwners.com/. Their services do include service dog training. Facebook – @DogTrainingForOwners
- RRUFF Healing Heroes Program – Facebook – @RRUFFHealingHeroes Here’s an article in the Lincoln News Messenger about them.
- Alpha K9 Service Program – AlphaK9.org/ Facebook – @AlphaK9
- Seniors First – SeniorsFirst.org. They have one or more options for service dogs, including dogs for diabetics. This link is to their booklet with a list of all their senior services. Facebook – @SFPlacer.
- 4 Paws 2 Freedom – 4paws2freedom.org – (916) 966-6758 Click here to see a video about them – Facebook – @4Paws2Freedom
- Canines on Course – (916) 600-4988 – caninesoncourse@aol.com – Facebook – @CaninesOnCourse
- Gabby Jack Ranch, Penn Valley – GabbyJackRanch.org -info@gabbyjackranch.org – Facebook – @gabbyjackranch
- Shona Mohr – See Mee Dogs – Facebook
Northern California Service Dog Resources
- Guide Dogs for the Blind School – San Rafael (North of San Francisco) – Facebook – @GuideDogsForTheBlindFans
- Monkey Tail Ranch – MonkeytailRanch.org Trained Service Dogs – Hollister CA, but they come to you – not sure how far they go. Facebook – @MonkeyTailRanch
- Canine Companions for Independence – CCCI.org – Santa Rosa – Facebook – @CanineCompanions
Service Dog Resources Further Away
- Tender Loving Canines – Vista / Solano Beach
- Canine Support Teams – Menifee
- Pawsitivity Service Dogs – can provide adults with service dog if they can travel to their location – St Paul, MN – Facebook – @PawsitivityServiceDogs
National Service Dog Resources
Horse Therapy
Horseback riding can have therapeutic benefits for many dealing with a variety of special needs whether disabled, dealing with emotional needs, etc. We’ve had two special people in our lives blessed by organizations such as these!
- Horses Healing Heroes. – For our Service Men and Women
- Horses for Healing
- Saddle Pals
- Ride to Walk
More Service Animal Resources?
If you know of other useful resources that can work for people here in the Roseville Sacramento area, we’d love to hear about them. Just leave a comment below or at our Facebook page – Roseville California Joys. 🙂 And have a great day!
Hi my daughter has been looking for a service/therapy dog, if you have any ideas please let me know, she has a brain tumor and it is now causing seizures, not continually but it does. Her oncologist has given us papers for her dog, but we need help in finding one right for her, thanks
Hi Alyssa, I’m so sorry to hear this. As I mentioned in the article, I researched this info to help a neighbor. I would try calling each of the links I listed. Also, I would try asking this question at NextDoor.com – here’s a link for it – http://www.rosevillecaliforniajoys.com/nextdoor . You could also go to Facebook and join some of the area groups like Good Neighbors of Roseville – and then ask in there. I’ve had great success with both options in the past. Praying you find a great one for her.
Do you guys take in dogs and make them service dogs? I have a friend with a great pitbull but she needs to give her up. She would love for the dog to become someone service animal and really make a difference .
Hi Bryan – I’m afraid I not. I just wrote about what’s available. You would have to contact each of the places I listed to ask them. 🙂