Cost of a Service Dog

Service Dogs, can be expensive. When we started this website we we under the impression of you have 3 options.
A. Pay thousands of dollars to get a service dog, selflessly trained by someone, but at the end of the dogs life, they go back to that trainer.
B. Purchase a dog, and have them trained for thousands of dollars via a company.
C. Train them yourselves.

Over the past few years we've learned there's a multitude of options, such as loans (which not everyone can quite frankly afford) So thanks to one of our readers we came across an article from BankRate which offered some pretty good options. For those of you who don't know, getting a service dog can run anywhere from $20,000-$60,000

For Financing - there's grants, (the senate it working on passing a bill for the VA)  fundraising, and personal loans, FSA, and Programs:

You also have to consider the cost of owning a service dog. When traveling on an airline (depending on your dogs size) most airlines, if your dog doesn't fit in a travel kennel under the seat in front of you, you'll have to purchase a full sized seat to account for the space. When it comes to Tax Season (we'll post an update for this later) you can claim a service dog if you meet certain criteria. 

Perks

-Landlords are required to allow service dogs, due to the Fair Housing Act, although they are allowed to ask for a note from your attending provider stating that you need one.
-Some Veterinarians and dog food companies will offer discounts for service dogs