Service Dogs

What Service Dogs does

Service Dogs, Inc. (SDI) is a 501(c)-equivalent Texas nonprofit founded in 1988 by attorney Sheri Soltes as Texas Hearing Dogs, headquartered on a 6-acre campus at 4925 Bell Springs Rd in Dripping Springs. The organization transforms dogs sourced from animal shelters — rather than bred — into trained assistance animals provided at no cost to approved Texas residents. SDI operates five core programs: Hearing Dogs (alerting deaf partners to essential sounds), Service Dogs for mobility assistance (opening doors, retrieving items, providing stability), Courthouse Facility Dogs (supporting child abuse survivors during forensic interviews and testimony), First Responder Facility Dogs (building resiliency among firefighters, paramedics, and law enforcement), and a Psychiatric Service Dog program for PTSD launched in December 2025. Training uses a proprietary positive-reinforcement clicker methodology developed over 37+ years rather than traditional force-based techniques, with extensive public-access acclimation in real-world settings.

Operationally, SDI's business model is donation-driven. Each dog placed requires approximately $50,000 in fundraising; clients pay only a $50 application fee plus ongoing care costs (~$2,500 annually). Revenue streams include individual and corporate donations, foundation grants (e.g., a $10,000 grant from Petco Love for First Responder Facility Dogs), planned-giving instruments (bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, retirement designations), and adoption fees for career-change dogs that do not complete training. Distribution is exclusively direct: Texas residents apply through servicedogs.org, attend an Applicant Orientation Day at the Dripping Springs campus, undergo matching sessions, and complete a Team Training week with lifetime follow-up; agency partners (District/County Attorneys' offices, Bluebonnet Trails Community Services) receive Facility Dogs via direct placement. The organization is ADI-accredited, holds a Charity Navigator Encompass rating of 100, and ranks #31 in growth among the top 100 Longhorn-led businesses worldwide by UT Texas Exes. Currently SDI is raising $1.5M to establish a satellite campus near downtown Austin.

Name

Service Dogs

Legal name

Service Dogs, Inc.

Website

https://servicedogs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Founded in 1988, Service Dogs, Inc. is a Texas nonprofit that transforms shelter dogs into trained Hearing, Mobility, Psychiatric, Courthouse, and First Responder service dogs provided free of charge to Texas residents from its Dripping Springs campus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Assistance Dog Training Services

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Training-Integrated Dog Daycare (Day Training) (HSANAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animal Shelters & Rescue Operations (AFAEALAB), Veterinary Charity Clinics & Medical Aid (BPAGAIAD)

Keywords

• Service dog training
• Assistance dog programs
• Hearing alert dogs
• Mobility service dogs
• Facility dog placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Dripping Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations: The nonprofit relies entirely on donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to fund operations. Service Dogs are provided completely free of charge to clients, with the organization raising $50,000 per dog trained and placed.
2. Grants: Received $10,000 grant from Petco Love for First Responder Facility Dogs. The organization actively pursues grant funding from national and local nonprofits.
3. Planned Giving: Accepts various planned giving instruments including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, life estates, and retirement plan beneficiary designations.
4. Career Change Dog Adoptions: Dogs that wash out of the service dog program are offered for pet adoption with an adoption fee. This includes well-trained companion animals that passed temperament testing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Service Dogs, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that rescues shelter dogs and trains them as working service dogs provided free of charge to approved clients. Programs include Hearing Dogs for the deaf, Service Dogs for mobility-challenged partners, Psychiatric Service Dogs for PTSD, Courthouse Facility Dogs supporting child abuse victims, and First Responder Facility Dogs for mental health resiliency. The organization is funded entirely through donations and grants, with each placement costing approximately $50,000 to train.

Product overview

Service Dogs, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that offers a portfolio of service dog programs, all built around transforming shelter dogs into trained assistance animals provided free of charge to clients. The core offerings include Hearing Dogs (for deaf individuals), Service Dogs (for mobility challenges), Psychiatric Service Dogs (for PTSD), Courthouse Facility Dogs (for child abuse victims in court), and First Responder Facility Dogs (for mental health support). All dogs are sourced from animal shelters and trained using positive reinforcement methods. Dogs are provided at no cost to approved applicants, with a 1-2 year waiting period after application acceptance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hearing Dogs Alert dogs trained to notify deaf partners to essential sounds such as door knocks, traffic, phone calls, and people calling their name. Dogs are adopted from animal shelters and provided free of charge to approved Texas clients.
• Service Dogs (Mobility Assistance) Assistive dogs trained to perform behaviors for mobility-challenged partners, including opening doors, retrieving items, turning on lights, and providing stability and balance support. Provided free of charge to approved Texas clients.
• Psychiatric Service Dogs Service dogs trained to assist individuals with PTSD by interrupting panic or anxiety episodes, waking handlers from nightmares, turning on lights in dark rooms, and helping filter overstimulating environments through body positioning.
• Courthouse Facility Dogs Facility dogs placed with Victims' Services staff in District and County Attorneys' offices to support child survivors of abuse during forensic interviews and court testimony, helping traumatized children articulate their experiences more freely.
• First Responder Facility Dogs Facility dogs working full time with firefighters, paramedics, hospital staff and law enforcement agencies to help build resiliency and destigmatize mental health among first responders.
• Career Change Dog Adoptions Well-trained dogs that did not pass SDI's temperament testing or were released from training programs, offered for pet adoption. Dogs have received extensive training and have passed temperament evaluations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 dogs placed since 1988
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bluebonnet Trails Community ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Orton, Peer Counselor at Bluebonnet Trails, was matched with Facility Dog Daisy. The partnership supports veterans, law enforcement and first responders in eight underserved Texas counties.
• Special Olympics TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMighty Texas Dog Walk has raised over $194 million benefiting Special Olympics Texas and other organizations over 38 years.
• Brown Distributing CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBeverage distributor partner providing support for events; delivers quality beverages to Austin area.
• CCCI (C.C. Carlton Industries Ltd)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCentral Texas construction and development company serving the area for over 30 years.
• HEB TOC (Texas Outdoor Cooking)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent partner for Mighty Texas Dog Walk; has raised over $194 million for Special Olympics Texas.
• Austin Animal CentercoreOthersPrimary source of shelter dogs for the program. SDI adopts dogs from the shelter, trains them as service dogs, and provides lifetime follow-up support.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NEADS World Class Service Dogs: ADI-accredited nonprofit that trains service dogs for hearing, mobility, and PTSD applications and places them at no cost. Comparable in mission, training methodology, and free-placement model.
• America's VetDogs: Nonprofit organization affiliated with Guide Dogs for the Blind that trains and places service dogs for veterans, including for hearing loss, mobility, and PTSD. Comparable as a free-of-charge donor-funded program serving similar veteran and disability populations.
• 4 Paws for Ability: Nonprofit that trains and places service dogs for adults and children with disabilities, including veterans with PTSD. Operates a multi-program model with shelter-dog sourcing and free placement, closely mirroring SDI's approach.
• Canine Companions for Independence: One of the largest ADI-accredited nonprofit service dog organizations in the U.S., training hearing, service, and facility dogs provided free to clients. Most directly comparable peer given multi-program structure and nonprofit donation model.
• Dogs for Better Lives: Nonprofit (formerly Dogs for the Deaf) that trains hearing and assistance dogs sourced from shelters and places them free of charge. Directly overlaps with SDI's Hearing Dog and shelter-dog transformation programs.
• Canine Partners for Life: Nonprofit that trains and places service dogs for mobility assistance and other disabilities at no cost. Comparable in mission, free-placement model, and ADI-accredited standards.
• K9s For Warriors: Nonprofit specifically focused on providing service dogs to veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury at no cost. Highly comparable in mission overlap with SDI's recently launched Psychiatric Service Dog program.

Regional players

• Assistance Dogs of the West: Smaller ADI-accredited regional nonprofit in New Mexico that trains and places service dogs for various disabilities. Comparable model but serves a different geographic region from SDI's Texas-only catchment.

Broad incumbents

• Guide Dogs for the Blind: One of the largest and longest-running ADI-accredited service dog nonprofits in the U.S. While primarily focused on guide dogs for the visually impaired, the broader portfolio and 80+ year history make it a large incumbent in the same category.
• Pet Partners: Large national nonprofit that registers therapy animals for visitation programs in healthcare, education, and crisis response. Overlaps with SDI's Courthouse and First Responder Facility Dog programs as animal-assisted support services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGhqOzVSElrq_YNG2504mHg
• Facebookfacebook.com/servicedogsinc
• Instagraminstagram.com/servicedogsinc
• TikToktiktok.com/@servicedogsinc1
• Xx.com/TxServiceDogs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/service-dogs-inc.

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Service Dogs