Apply for a Facility Dog

Please review the Eligibility Requirements below. If you are eligible to submit an application request, or if you have any questions in determining eligibility, please contact CHAMP.

We suggest you also read What to Expect When You Apply and Assistance Dogs FAQs.

Eligibility Requirements

Facility Location

• Typically, facilities interested in applying for a CHAMP Facility Dog should be located in the greater St. Louis, MO area (within 50 miles of our business office in St. Louis, MO). However, we will consider facilities outside of the area on a case-by-case basis. Contact us to see if your facility may qualify.

Designated Handler/Caregiver

• The facility must provide a suitable candidate for handling, housing, and caring for the Facility Dog.

• The facility/handler/caregiver must be able to physically, financially and emotionally meet the needs of their facility dog. Other staff and visitors must be respectful of the dog’s professional status, and allow the dog to do its job.

• Handler/Caregiver candidates should have a long-established relationship with the facility, a position that allows them to handle the dog when working at the facility, be willing to participate in placement and follow-up training, and a stable housing situation suitable for the Facility Dog. When selecting a handler/caregiver candidate, we suggest the facilities keep in mind that our dogs will typically work until they are 10+ years old.

• Up to two additional handlers may be trained to handle the dog at the facility.

• CHAMP Facility Dogs may not live at the facility. They must go home with their caregiver, and be treated as a valued member of the caregiver’s family.

On-Going Commitment to Care and Service

• Recipients (the Facility as well as Handler/Caregiver) are required to participate in follow-up contact, which may include phone calls, e-mails, completion of questionnaires, visits by CHAMP staff or volunteers, and additional training sessions, as needed, throughout the entire partnership.

• The facility must provide the dog with ample opportunity to perform the skills for which he/she has been trained.