Demand for service dogs unleashes a 'Wild West' market

Service dogs can help people with ailments from autism to epilepsy, but a trained dog can cost up to $40,000 — and insurance won’t cover it.

enni Mahnaz admits she’s not much of a dog person. She’s mildly allergic, and the only pet she had as a child was a hermit crab. But once she learned that specially trained dogs could help her daughters with their medical needs, she was willing to do anything to make it happen.

Her oldest daughter, Suraiya, 6, was diagnosed with autism and sensory processing challenges. Soon afterward, Phoenix, 4, was diagnosed with epilepsy.

“Our family is very likely to end up with two service dogs,” Mahnaz said. “I think we’re probably looking at $10,000 per dog.”

That’s a serious hurdle for the family of five from Troy, New York, whose income is below the federal poverty line, even though they’ll save money by buying pups from a breeder and then paying a local trainer to train them as service dogs.

Organizations charge $15,000 to $40,000 for a fully trained service dog, which they have bred, raised and trained for a year and a half. None of the cost is covered by health insurance. Other trainers have long waiting lists or won’t place dogs with young children.

“This is very expensive for us, but I am my girls’ parent, and it is my job to do whatever I can to make their standard of living as good as I can,” Mahnaz said. “It is a need for them, and it will make a big difference in their lives.”
Lack of regulations for training

Demand for service dogs has exploded in recent years as dogs have proved adept at helping children and adults with a growing range of disabilities. While dogs once served primarily people with vision or mobility impairments, they now help people with autism, diabetes, seizures and psychiatric disorders. That has overwhelmed nonprofit service dog trainers, who generally donate dogs to patients for at most a small application fee. Unmet needs have helped launch a for-profit service dog industry with hefty price tags.

Rapid growth, however, has come with little oversight, potentially subjecting people who have complex medical issues to huge financial barriers, poorly trained dogs and outright fraud. The pitfalls are only aggravated by social media, including fundraising sites like GoFundMe that allow families to meet pricing thresholds they wouldn’t be able to afford on their own. The flourishing market emboldens trainers to charge more for their services, confident that the funds will be donated.