Frequently Asked Questions

PawPrint dogs live in their home with their owners. The owner of the dog volunteers their time to train the dog and make routine community visits.

Emotional Support or Service Dogs are trained to assist one individual. A Comfort Dog is trained to serve in the community in a wide variety of situations and bring joy to all people. As a result, PawPrint Ministries does not allow Emotional Support or Service Dogs in our program, as they are already performing an important job helping a specific person. Their energy and attention should not be misdirected towards the general public.

It depends... on the time of year, on how much notice you give us, on how many volunteers we already have scheduled during the time you prefer. We typically have an average of 50 visits scheduled in any given month, along with contingency time built in for responding to unexpected tragedies or emergencies. Ideally we prefer at least 1 month advance notice, with exception to a tragedy or emergency deployment.

Our teams are typically on-site for 30 to 60 minutes. Special event visits may require a longer duration.

No. Dog Team assignments are based on volunteer handler availability, and the specific skills of the available comfort dog for the given situation—some dogs are more comfortable in loud environments, others prefer quieter locations.

Upon arrival and check-in, your staff will escort our Comfort Dog Teams to the location you've identified for the visit to take place. Comfort dogs will interact with any person who wishes to spend time with the dog, and will "make the rounds" from person to person. We ask that each person treat our dogs with kindness, and be mindful of timing so that everyone who wants a visit can have equal time. We ask that you do not give treats to the dogs during the visit, and where possible, keep other food away from the visitation area.

No. PawPrint Ministries' program does NOT qualify or certify dog to be a Service dog, an Emotional Support dog, or a Personal Aid dog. Comfort Dogs are trained to serve all people in the community under a variety of situations; versus a Service or Emotional Support Dog that is trained to assist one specific individual. Likewise, the PawPrint dog vest does not qualify Comfort Dogs to enter facilities that only allow Service animals.

Although our dogs are required to wear a vest when working, PawPrint Comfort Dogs do not have any special rights or benefits, like those given to Emotional Support or Service animals. The PawPrint vest only indicates the dog is “on the job” at a training class or visiting a facility, and helps identify you as part of PawPrint Ministries for community service during an event or visit. The PawPrint vest does not grant special access to places that only allow Service dogs.

Once a dog and handler have completed a few phases of training and can demonstrate control, they will begin on-site in-training visits in the community. Most teams require 75 - 100 training classes to become fully certified; most dogs are ready to start serving on easier, low key community visits after six to nine months of training. The entire process of fully certifying a dog—including both classroom and on-site training—takes around 12-18 months.

Absolutely! We would love for you to come observe training and learn everything you can, and will help you get through as many of the steps as possible!

PawPrint Ministries handlers must be a minimum of 18 years of age, though we prefer age 21 or older to allow the handler access to various public events.

It is best to start training a dog as young as possible. We require dogs to be under the age of five years to enter into our training program.

To ensure the safety of our handlers, their dogs, the people we visit, and the high caliber of service we provide, PawPrint Ministries has very specific criteria for volunteer participation. If you can answer an unequivocal "YES" to ALL of the following criteria... You are able to Volunteer a MINIMUM of 15 hours per month. You are available to serve between the hours of 9am and 4pm on weekdays (Monday - Friday). You are physically able to walk a mile, be on your feet for at least 1 hour consecutively, and lift 20 pounds. You are 21 years of age or older. Your dog is less than 5 years old. You are willing to commit to roughly 75 to 100 training classes to become certified. You can pass a background check. ​You are able to carry your own handler/dog liability insurance. ...then we welcome you to take the next step. Currently our greatest need is for community visits in Macon and Champaign counties, although we serve all over Central Illinois.

PawPrint Ministries Comfort Dog Teams undergo a comprehensive training program to prepare each team for success, covering a wide variety of both physical and emotional situations that may be encountered while serving in our community. Most teams require 75 - 100 training classes to become fully certified; however most dogs are ready to start serving on easier, low key community visits after six to nine months of training. Applicants begin by observation: you must attend a minimum of 2 hours of classes (without your dog) to watch different dogs working on different skills/at different levels. After you've observed classes to better understand the commitment and scope of training, you and your dog will undergo an evaluation meeting. If approved, you'll be entered into our training program. Training is organized into four skill groups: Building Blocks, Essentials, Intermediate, and Advanced. Classes are held on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. There is usually one training class held per week, per skill group. The timing of your progress through these four skill groups is based on your availability, which also allows you to progress at your own pace until you fully master the skills.

We try to keep out of pocket expenses very low for our teams. Each team gets one free logo shirt, and the embroidered dog vest once the dog is approved for on-site visits. Additional shirts can be purchased, screen printed, or embroidered. As a volunteer, you are responsible for any and all expenses, costs, and fees associated with volunteering for PawPrint Ministries. To help offset operational expenses, we require an initial $50 application fee, and ask each handler to contribute a minimum of $500 per calendar year to help us cover operational expenses, including our facility, staff, software, and equipment, as well as the cost of training and certifying Comfort Dog Teams (currently over $4200 for each team). We are happy to help you with marketing materials and fundraising ideas to assist you in raising this annual amount. During training, Trainer Dave will recommend a collar based on your dog’s performance and reactions — most dogs respond best to a training collar, which range from $20 - $55. For practicing your skills at home, teams can borrow our training benches as long as we have extra, or you can purchase your own for roughly $50.

PawPrint Ministries does not assign visits. We provide a calendar-based schedule of requests for Comfort Dog visits, enabling handlers to view and choose which visits they can attend within their interest and available schedule. We do however expect a Comfort Dog Team to participate in at least four events or visits each month, including training classes and community visits.

Our program is tailored to training ONE dog with ONE handler. We do not allow two people to train on one dog (co-handling) nor do we allow one person to train multiple dogs (co-training). However if you have more than one dog in your household that you think would be great as a Comfort Dog, we are happy to talk with you to help you assess who is the better candidate.