How to Apply

There is always a bigger demand for dogs than our organization can provide. We provide service to residents of the City of Guelph and Wellington County.

It’s a long process, so bear in mind that this page can only provide the short version. 

The Beginning

First, review this document. If all criteria are met or there are any more questions, the applicant needs to contact info@k9helpers.org. Then, we meet with applicants to assess their needs and discuss next steps.

Sharing Information

If interest continues, we will inform applicants about service dogs in general, psychiatric service dogs, and about K9 Helpers Service Dogs in particular.  At this time, client information is required.  One of our concerns at this stage is to determine whether we are likely to be able to train a dog to meet specific needs, or whether some other kind of assistance may be better.  If we believe that a K9 Helpers Dog could be suitable, we continue with the application process. 

K9 Helpers has a policy of strict confidentiality and does not share any information we receive about clients with anyone unless they are directly involved in evaluation of clients and/or training of dogs.

Meeting the Application Committee

A person who is going to be partnered with a service dog for the first time needs to understand that there is a lot involved. Both the applicant and K9 Helpers need to be comfortable that they are ready and willing to engage in a project which could take as long as 2-4 years.

After the Application

The other phases of qualifying to be a Partner to a K9 Helpers Service Dog are:

Discovery (learning things about yourself, service dogs and K9 Helpers),

Public Access Training,

Placement and

Partnership.

If you are interested in finding out more, please review this document and then email us at  info@k9helpers.org .