Categories of Service

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.  Service animals are working animals, not pets. 

The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.  We can group the dogs we train into 4 categories of service — Assistant, Facility, Mental Health, and Medical Health.

FACILITY

Facility Dogs

These dogs can be used in a department or organization when people are experiencing work-related stress and trauma. In addition, these dogs are used in group settings to bring comfort and joy to the group.
ASSISTANT

Assistant Dogs

These dogs are used to help people with physical challenges.  They do tasks like pulling a wheelchair, retrieving a dropped object, or reminding a person to take medication. 

Thin Line Service Dogs utilize Golden Retrievers specifically bred for health and temperament and follow the Golden Retriever Club of America Code of Ethics (GRCA COE) with regard to health clearances. Puppies are tested to meet the early criteria as a service dog prospect.  

MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health Dogs

These dogs can help individuals with mental health challenges like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTDS),  depression, and anxiety.

 During the puppy phase, various techniques are used to ensure sight, sound, touch, and human touch is incorporated into the whelping box. These factors help ensure the puppy has the best start to becoming a working service dog.

MEDICAL HEALTH

Medical Health Dogs

These dogs can be used to help with medical conditions.  For instance the dog, upon sensing an impending medical crisis,  will communicate this to his or her handler.  A dog can also bark and draw attention to his handler during a medical crisis.