Great Start Home Volunteer Application Name * First Name Last Name Email * Cell Phone * (###) ### #### Work Phone (###) ### #### Address * Address 1 Address 2 City State/Province Zip/Postal Code Country Date of Birth * Where did you hear about Service Dogs of Virginia? * Why do you want to become a volunteer? * Besides giving the dog back to SDV, what do you think you will find most difficult about this work? * Is there anyone in your family with a disability? * Please provide the NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, and PHONE number of a personal reference. This must be someone who does not live with you: * Do you have a fenced yard or other fenced area where a dog can get exercise? * Yes No If you answered No to the fenced yard question above, do you have access to a fenced area where you can exercise the dog? List below all animals that are part of your household (living indoors or out) and describe the temperament of each. How do your pets behave around dogs? Are your pets spayed/neutered? Are you a student, stay at home parent, retired, work part-time or work full-time? * Describe your daily schedule (i.e., time you get up, go to work/school, other activities, bedtime, etc.): * What is your occupation? Where is your place of employment? * Please list the name, relation, and age of members of your household (include spouse/partner): * Do all members of your household want to participate in caring for a service dog? * Yes No If more than one family member is involved in raising the puppy, will you be able to follow SDV’s recommendations on how to divide the training and management of the pup? * Yes No N/A If more than one family member plans to participate in training the pup or taking him on outings, will that person able to attend classes with the primary handler? * Yes No N/A How much exercise can you give the dog each day? * Are you willing to purchase toys, treats, and simple equipment for the dog? * Yes No If you are out with a dog in public, are you comfortable talking with people about your dog and what you are doing? * Yes No Do you agree to pick up, clean up, and dispose of the dog’s waste when he/she eliminates in public? * Yes No Have you ever trained a dog before? If yes, what method of training did you use? * Are you willing to learn a completely new approach to training dogs and discontinue using your previous methods with an SDV puppy? * Yes No Raising a pup is a 12 month commitment. Are you able to make this commitment? * Yes No Raising a puppy can be a full time job because when they are young they must be closely supervised, taken outside frequently, and cannot be left alone for long. How will you manage the time needed to care for and train a puppy? * Are you willing to crate train the puppy? * Yes No Are you able to attend a weekly class in CHARLOTTESVILLE organized by SDV? * Charlottesville is currently our main class location but we hope to host classes in different parts of Virginia in the near future. Yes No Are you willing to frequently take the pup with you out in public? * Yes No If you work outside the home or attend school, have you discussed raising a service dog with your employer or administrators? If you have permission from the appropriate person, please provide their contact information. * How many hours a day, on average, will the dog be left alone? * Please indicate by selecting below any other volunteer opportunities you would be interested in Nights and Weekends Volunteer Respite Volunteer Dog Walker All-Purpose Special Events Thank you so much for submitting an application to be a Puppy Raiser for Service Dogs of VA! We will get in touch with you to share details about our volunteer orientation. At this time, we are working on putting together an online volunteer orientation.
