What is the demand for Service Dogs?
No exact answer can be determined. The demand is exaggerated by working backwards from the number of disabled Americans and assuming some percentage of that number will want a Service Dog. A more direct method is measure current demand against production. The current production of Service Dogs is approximately 500 to 600 Service Dogs per year. The average waiting list is 2 years (ranging from 6mos. to 5 years). That means that the current demand is approximately 1000 to 1200 dogs. For arguments sake let’s assume there are twice as many individuals who want Service Dogs but they are not on waiting lists. That puts the current demand between 3000 to 3600 dogs for the next two years. If you then add 1500 to 1800 Service Dogs each year over the next 9 years, the ten year projection is between 16,500 and 19,800. These numbers are over-estimates. Many individuals are on more than one waiting list. Even if you double or triple these numbers, assuming demand will increase with availability, th
