Two thoughtful paths to a service-dog partnership.
Our children's and veteran programs are intentionally different because every recipient, household, and training journey has different needs.
Children's program
A carefully trained dog prepared for the child.
We train only one or two dogs at a time for children. We do not operate a kennel-based training system. Each dog lives in the trainer's home and participates in daily family life, creating an immersive training experience that extends far beyond scheduled sessions.
Training continues throughout the day as the dog develops household manners, public-access skills, confidence, task reliability, and the ability to settle in real-world environments. When the dog is ready, the child and family complete team training before placement.
Dogs live and learn in a home environment
Training is individualized for the child and family
Veterans do not receive a fully trained dog. The dog lives with the veteran while the veteran works alongside Lila's Friends from the beginning, learning handling skills, reinforcing training, and developing the bond required for a successful working team.
During training, the dog remains a Lila's Friends program dog as part of our shared commitment to the dog's welfare, consistent training standards, and the team's long-term success. This arrangement is designed to provide the veteran and dog with dependable guidance and ongoing support throughout their journey. After the team successfully graduates, ownership transfers to the veteran through adoption.
Veteran and dog learn as a team
Weekly Saturday training
Applicants must live within about one hour of Roscoe/Rockton
Built around the child—not simply placed in the home.
Lila's Friends is a child-led program. Children must be at least 6 years old, or near that age when their dog is ready for placement. We teach and encourage the child to become the dog's primary handler and caregiver, with parents providing guidance and support.
This approach helps create a strong working bond, builds confidence and independence, and gives the dog a clear understanding of who “their person” is.
No cost for the dog or training
We cover the cost of obtaining the dog, caring for the dog while in our program, and completing all service-dog training.
Matched specifically for your child
Families may share preferences, but a certain breed, size, or sex cannot be guaranteed. We believe in need before breed and choose for long-term compatibility.
No rushed or guaranteed timeline
Once the right dog is found, training often takes approximately 6 months to a year. Finding a candidate—or starting again if a dog washes—can extend the process.
One week of team training in Illinois
When the dog is ready, the family travels to Illinois to learn the dog's handling, care, tasks, and alerts and to practice together in everyday environments.
The right dog comes first
Approval does not mean a dog is already waiting.
We do not keep trained dogs waiting for placement. Once a family is approved, Sarah begins searching for the right candidate for that specific child. Families can request certain traits, but those preferences are not guaranteed. Health, temperament, energy, lifestyle, tasks, and long-term compatibility must come first.
Not every dog that begins service-dog training will complete it. If a dog shows us that service work is not the right job, we will never place that dog simply because a family has been waiting. We return to the search and begin again.
Individualized medical tasks
Training is shaped around the child's needs.
Tasks are selected and trained for the individual child. For diabetic alert work, for example, the family collects scent samples at the child's low, in-range, and high glucose levels. We provide step-by-step instructions for collecting, labeling, storing, and sending those samples so the dog can learn the child's individual scent.
The same thoughtful, individualized approach guides other disability-related tasks and alerts.
Allergy-related dog requests
“Hypoallergenic” does not mean allergy-free.
All dogs produce allergens. Those allergens may be present in dander, hair, saliva, and urine, so even a low-shedding dog can cause symptoms. Breeds commonly described as “hypoallergenic,” including Lagotto Romagnolo dogs and Poodles, may be better tolerated by some people, but no breed can be guaranteed to be completely allergen-free.
If a family states that a child medically requires a low-shedding or commonly labeled hypoallergenic dog, Lila's Friends requires documentation from the child's physician or allergy specialist confirming the allergy-related need. This helps us make a responsible match based on the child's documented health needs rather than coat preference alone. Even with medical documentation and careful selection, we cannot guarantee that a child will never react to an individual dog.
The family's only placement-related cost
The dog and all training are completely free.
The family's only placement-related expense is traveling to Illinois for the approximately one-week team-training visit. Lila's Friends does not provide room and board, so the family is responsible for transportation, hotel accommodations, meals, and other personal expenses during the stay.
During that week, the child and family meet the dog, learn to work together, practice the dog's tasks and alerts, and begin the transition into a working team. The dog goes home only when we are confident the partnership is safe and successful.
Service dog and all training: no cost
Family team training: no cost
Illinois travel, hotel, meals, and incidentals: family's only placement-related expense
Ready to apply?
Military Child Service-Dog Program
If you have reviewed the Military Child Service-Dog Program information and believe the program may be appropriate for your child and family, you can begin the application process below.
Lila's Friends is deeply committed to the fight against veteran suicide—a mission often represented by the call to action “22 a day.” We believe the right service-dog partnership can give a veteran connection, purpose, confidence, and a reason to keep moving forward.
Our primary veteran program serves veterans living with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or military sexual trauma. Other disability-related medical needs may be considered individually when a service dog could safely and meaningfully help.
Saturday classes
Veterans and their dogs meet with us every Saturday for hands-on instruction, practice, feedback, and the next week's training plan.
Progressive training
Teams move from basic training into intermediate and advanced work, building reliable skills step by step before graduation.
Confidence building
We use confidence exercises, selected agility activities, and supportive challenges to help both veteran and dog grow together.
Real-world practice
Training expands into public locations, community events, and other everyday environments where the team will need to work.
Support between classes
Guidance continues throughout the week.
After each Saturday class, veterans receive homework and submit three short training videos through Google Chat during the week. Those videos let Sarah encourage progress, catch problems early, and guide the veteran if a skill needs to be adjusted.
Sarah remains available throughout training and can provide on-site support later in the program when a veteran needs help applying the work in a particular location or situation.
Class instruction, weekly homework, video feedback, and ongoing access to the trainer
A dog who lives the journey with you
The partnership begins at home.
The dog lives with the veteran during training. This encourages the veteran to build a daily routine, leave the house, practice in public, and work through PTSD-related challenges with support beside them.
Veterans may enter the program with a dog they already own. We will evaluate the dog's temperament, health, and suitability and, when appropriate, help train that dog for service work.
A veteran does not have to receive a dog from Lila's Friends to participate
Need before breed
The best-looking dog is not always the best working partner.
If a veteran does not already have a suitable dog, Lila's Friends helps explore responsible options. We may work with trusted breeders regarding upcoming litters or evaluate promising dogs from local shelters. We do not keep dogs housed on site or maintain a ready-made inventory.
Breed preferences are welcome, but no specific breed is guaranteed. We consider the veteran's disability-related needs, lifestyle, household, activity level, experience, and goals alongside the dog's temperament, health, energy, confidence, and trainability. The goal is a partnership in which both the veteran and the dog can thrive.
Ready to apply?
Disabled Veteran Service-Dog Program
If you have reviewed the Disabled Veteran Service-Dog Program information and believe the program may be a good fit for your needs, you can begin the application process below.
We allow each dog time to learn, grow, and mature.
Service-dog preparation is more than teaching commands. A dog must mature physically and emotionally, demonstrate a stable temperament, perform disability-related tasks reliably, and work safely in many environments.
Because we train in depth and at a small scale, turnaround times can be lengthy. We will never rush a dog into placement simply to meet a date. The safety, suitability, and long-term success of the partnership come first.
Begin here
Review the requirements for the program that fits your family.
