Family Fundraising Support Center

At Good Dog!, we offer two main types of placements: Service Dogs – Trained and placed with children who have autism or related disabilities, assisting with daily tasks and providing life-changing support. Facility Dogs – Live and work alongside a professional, helping children with autism or related disabilities reach their goals in schools, therapy centers, and care settings. We also offer a Train Your Own (TYO) program, where we guide families and independent adults in training their own service dogs for a wide range of needs, including: Neurodevelopmental & neurological support (autism, sensory processing disorders, developmental delays, seizure alert/response, mobility-related neurological conditions) Medical alert & response (diabetic alert, seizure alert, POTS, cardiac conditions, and other episodic or chronic medical needs) Mobility & physical support (balance assistance, retrieving items, opening doors, wheelchair support) Psychiatric & emotional support (PTSD, anxiety disorders, psychiatric service dogs for veterans and civilians) …and many other unique or rare disability needs. If a trained service dog can assist, we can help guide you in making it happen.

The terms can be confusing, so here’s a simple breakdown: Service Dogs – Specifically trained to perform tasks for one individual with a disability. They are legally allowed in public places and can live in housing with “no pets” policies. They may also fly in airplane cabins with their handler. Facility Dogs – Specially trained to work alongside a professional (such as a therapist, teacher, or counselor) to support multiple people in schools, therapy sessions, or care settings. They do not have the same public access rights as service dogs. Companion Dogs – Provide comfort, companionship, and emotional support to one person but are not trained for specific tasks related to a disability. They are not granted public access rights. Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) – Offer emotional comfort and support, often prescribed by a medical professional. ESAs may qualify for housing with “no pets” policies but do not have public access rights or airplane access. In short: service dogs are task-trained for disability support, facility dogs serve groups in professional settings, companion dogs offer personal companionship, and emotional support animals provide comfort without specialized training. Here’s a quick comparison to help you see the differences between service dogs, facility dogs, companion dogs, and emotional support animals at a glance.

Good Dog! service dogs are specially trained for families of children with autism, and related diagnoses, such as but not limited to Down Syndrome, Fragile X, Apraxia, and ADHD. Good Dogs are specifically trained service dogs that perform tasks to mitigate these disabilities. Examples of tasks include applying pressure, receiving pressure, interrupting or redirecting behavior, providing focus and grounding, and creating a social and communicative bridge. All service dogs are placed as three-party teams that include the dog, child, and a parent/caregiver who lives with the child and serves as the primary dog handler. View our full eligibility criteria here.

Both programs begin with a $200 application fee, which is applied toward program costs if you are accepted. Full Service Placement (FSP) At Good Dog!, we’re committed to making life-changing service dogs accessible to all families in need. It costs an average of $32,000 to raise, care for, and train each dog, while also providing lifelong education and support for each family. We offer two pathways to cover these costs: Fee-for-Service: Families (or those with access to state funding) contribute the full $32,000. Fundraising Program: Families are asked to raise $26,000, and together we work to secure the remaining amount. Families often continue fundraising while Good Dog! applies donations from our Scholarship Fund to support fundraising recipients. Fundraising is never required, but many families choose this path and find the love and support from their communities to be a healing experience in itself. Additional Note: Families are responsible for their own travel, lodging, transportation, and food during the required five-day Team Training in Southern California. Train Your Own (TYO) Certified Program The total cost of the Certified TYO program is $12,000. Families may: Pay the full amount (fee-for-service), OR Fundraise the full amount with our fundraising coaching, tools, and support. Additional Note: Puppy purchase is not included but may be added to your fundraising goal if needed.

We know that each family, child, and dog is unique and so Good Dog! custom matches each dog with the unique needs and lifestyle of each family. We use a three tiered system to evaluate personality compatibility, the child’s specific needs, and family environment. Based on the tasks you would like the dog to perform, the special requirements of your child, and your family’s activity level and desires, we select a dog with just the right temperament, personality, and abilities to meet your family’s needs. Learn more about this process here.

At Good Dog!, our trainers focus exclusively on raising and training puppies for our Full Service Placement Program—we do not train dogs already owned by families. But if you already have a dog you’d like to train, there’s good news: our Train Your Own (TYO) Program is designed for just that. In this program, you take the lead in training your dog, with our expert coaching and support along the way. To help set you and your dog up for success, we offer a Bring Your Own Dog (BYOD) Application & Assessment. This process gives you a clear, professional recommendation on whether your dog is a suitable candidate for service work. You can complete the BYOD assessment either before or after submitting your TYO application—whichever makes the most sense for you.

Our family and education program is a 3-step program; 1. Prerequisite learning/FETCH Online Classes, 2. Team Training and 3. Ongoing Support and Follow-up. 1. After you are matched with a dog, you must complete required reading and participate in online classes in preparation for Team Training. This learning is encouraged for everyone in the household. 2. The primary handler will come to Southern California with a group of other handlers for a 5-day Team Training. Team Training is an immersive learning experience when you will go through classes on topics related to canine behavior, health, and psychology, hands-on sessions working with your dog, and field trips to practice handling the dog in public. At the end of team training you will graduate with your dog as a team and return with him to your child and family! 3. We provide ongoing support and assistance to service dog teams for the life of the dog, which includes, at a minimum, monthly follow-up contact for the first year after graduation and annual contact after that.

We provide ongoing support and assistance to service dog teams for the life of the dog, which includes, at a minimum, monthly contact for the first year after graduation and annual contact after that. Our team is always available by phone and email.

Occasionally, we have a dog that is not suited for the high demands of service work. These dogs are first evaluated for other careers, such as becoming a Facility Dog or a Companion Dog. If neither of these career paths are right for the dog, these dogs become available for adoption as excellent pets, called Released Dogs. Click here to apply for a Released Dog.

At this time we are NOT able to service independent individuals with autism or other disabilities. Currently our program is designed for a team of three: parent-child-dog. (Over time it may be possible for the child to become the main handler, but there must be a parent present to oversee this process.)

We do not specialize in safety. If this is your number one priority, Good Dog! is most likely not the organization for you, but we are happy to discuss your needs with you in a Free Chat.

Good Dog! is a 501(c) (3) tax exempt non-profit. EIN number #45-2627922. We rely on the generosity of individual donors, corporate sponsorships, and grants to fund our program. All donations go directly to the Family Scholarship Fund. Good Dog! families also either pay a fee for service or fundraise to contribute to their service dog.

We only train and place Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Golden/Labrador Retriever crosses and on occasion LabraDoodles, GoldenDoodles and Australian Labradoodles. Please note that we are unable to accept children/families who require hypoallergenic dogs. We consider each puppy we bring into the program very carefully because we want to make sure each dog has the highest chance of graduating. We currently obtain our puppies-for-training from purpose bred breeders who focus on even temperament and good health.

The typical wait time for a Good Dog! service dog is approximately 24 months. This wait officially starts when a family has raised half of their fee-for-service. Due to our custom matching process, wait times can vary depending on the needs of the child and lifestyle of the family. We know that waiting this long for a service dog can be tough, especially for a child; however, we hold high standards and all of our dogs must go through a rigorous two-year training program. We are a smaller organization and put extra effort in getting to know each family and child. We tell all of our families that trusting the process to yield them the best dog is the best attitude to have. Please note: two years is a typical wait time for reputable service dogs organizations, we highly recommend that if you find an organization with less than a two year wait that you fully research the organization before signing up to get a dog from them.

Thank you for your interest in the Sylvester Family. There are a few places to go for more information about them and their inspiration to start Good Dog! Service Canines, originally Good Dog! Autism Companions: 1. Founders Story Blog 2. The bottom of the Who We Are page 3. Media Page