What are your veteran eligibility guidelines?

Veterans should meet the following criteria to be considered for our program:

• Have an official diagnosis from a healthcare provider of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Reside in an owned or rented home within our service area
• Be able to commit to the full training process (often one year to eighteen months), which can include two or more group classes weekly, in-home individualized training sessions, and self-directed at-home training
• If living with others, have the full support of all household members in having a service dog
• Have the ability to care for oneself and a service dog

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[accordion-item title=”What is your service area?”]

Massachusetts: Acton, Andover, Ashburnham, Ashby, Ayer, Bedford, Berlin, Billerica, Bolton, Boxborough, Boylston, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Clinton, Concord, Devens, Dracut, Dunstable, Fitchburg, Groton, Harvard, Hudson, Lancaster, Leominster, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Lunenburg, Marlborough, Methuen, Northborough, North Reading, Pepperell, Shirley, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Waltham, Wayland, Westford, Wilmington, and Woburn.

New Hampshire: Amherst, Atkinson, Auburn, Bedford, Brookline, Concord, Derry, East Hampstead, Goffstown, Greenfield, Hampstead, Hollis, Hooksett, Hudson, Kingston, Litchfield, Londonderry, Lyndeborough, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Nashua, New Boston, New Ipswich, Pelham, Peterborough, Plaistow, Salem, Temple, Weare, Wilton, and Windham.

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[accordion-item title=”How long does the application process take?”]

From start to finish, the application process takes between 4 – 8 weeks. This is largely dependent upon your schedule and ability to get application components to us in a timely manner.

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[accordion-item title=”What are the steps involved in the application process?”]

The application, which may be requested by a healthcare provider on your behalf, acts as an initial screening to determine if you may be a good fit for our program. This should take you no longer than an hour to complete. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and you can expect to receive notification within two weeks of submission if your application has been reviewed favorably.

The next step is scheduling an in-person interview with our Veteran Caseworker and Training Director. This interview will help Operation Delta Dog get to know you better and will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the training program. After the interview you will hear within two weeks if you have been chosen to move forward in the process.

The final step is a home visit, during which our Veteran Caseworker and a trainer will come to your home to assess the suitability of your living arrangements and any other household pets for the introduction of a service dog. At this time we also speak with members of your household about life with a service dog and answer any questions they may have.

After your home visit, the full Operation Delta Dog staff reviews all components of your application. You will be notified within two weeks of your home visit if you’ve been selected for our program. If you have been selected you will be added to our waitlist.

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[accordion-item title=”If my application is approved, how long will it take for me to get a dog?”]

The time it takes for a veteran to be matched with a dog varies because Operation Delta Dog employs a very personalized matching process to ensure the best possible fit between veteran and dog. On average, our veterans wait one to six months to be matched with their service dog.

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[accordion-item title=”What happens while I am waiting for my dog?”]

We recommend that veterans who are approved start coming to weekly training classes to get a feel for how the training process works and get a chance to meet other veterans with whom they’ll be training.

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[accordion-item title=”What happens once I am matched with a service dog?”]

Once our trainers have identified a dog that they believe will be a good fit for your individual needs, they will request that you meet the dog at our training center. If it appears that a good bond could form, you will start attending weekly training classes where your matched dog will be waiting for you. You will work together at classes for a period of several weeks, after which time you will meet with the Veteran Caseworker and Training Director to determine if the dog is the right fit for you. If the dog is, we will make a plan for the dog to begin living with you and you will come together to classes and individual sessions to complete the training over the next twelve to eighteen months.

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