Honoring the Service of Hawaii-based Service Dogs on National Service Dog Day

Every year on Sept. 20, the nation observes National Service Dog Day, a day created by Congress to recognize an estimated 500,000 service dogs across the nation that assist disabled individuals.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service dog is defined specifically as a dog trained to do work or perform specific tasks for an individual with any physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or mental impairment that limits one or major life activities.

David Matlin, executive director of Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs, a nonprofit organization that provides trained service dogs at no cost to eligible veterans, first responders, and Hawaii residents with disabilities, described the critical role service dogs play.

“Seeing a veteran or individual with a disability walk out with their canine partner represents restored independence and reclaimed dignity,” said Matlin. “For a veteran carrying trauma, a service dog acts as a grounding anchor that eases tension in unpredictable or crowded environments. For someone navigating physical barriers, a dog retrieving dropped keys, opening heavy doors, or providing balance removes the daily strain of relying on strangers. Beyond individual tasks, the partnership dissolves social barriers — shifting everyday conversations from the limitations of a disability to a celebration of the dog's skill and companionship.”

Kieran Woll, 55, a retired Navy Corpsman who served from 1990 to 1993, said his service dog, Missy, has been a “blessing” in his life.

Woll, who grew up near Hawaii Kai on this island of Oahu, injured his spine while deployed in the Middle East for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He got Missy, a yellow Labrador Retriever, three and a half years from Hawaii Fi-Do. He describes her as “very gentle” and said she “loves people.” Missy helps him with a variety of tasks including opening doors, picking up items like credit cards or IDs when they fall on the floor, assisting with transfers from the electric wheelchair to the manual wheelchair, and comforting him when he wakes up from a nightmare. Missy also responds to verbal commands and hand signals.

Brenda, Woll’s wife, said that having Missy with her husband at home gives her “peace of mind.”

“Any service member who needs that, they should have it because it really does bring them joy and security at the same time,” she said.

On one occasion, Woll fell at home and no other person was there to help him up. Missy retrieved Woll’s cell phone, enabling him to call 911. When the first responders arrived, Missy used a remote to open the door and let them in so they could assist Woll.

How Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs are Trained

Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs is the only Oahu-based service dog training organization accredited by Assistance Dogs International, meeting internationally recognized standards for canine welfare, specialized training, and ethical placement.

Hawaii Fi-Do typically graduates about seven fully trained service dogs each year. This year, 12 dogs are in the training program.

Training an ADI-accredited service dog generally takes 18 months to two years.

The Cost of Training

Raising, socializing, and fully training an accredited service dog typically costs between $25,000 and $40,000. Specialized mobility or complex support dogs can cost as much as $50,000 to train.

Those costs include veterinary care, high-quality food, specialized equipment, insurance, and hundreds of professional training hours. Accredited nonprofits offset those expenses through donations, foundation grants, and corporate sponsorships so that clients can receive dogs at no cost.

The Wolls said they were fortunate that they waited only about six months for Missy and that Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs paid for her extensive training.

The Service Gap

More than 60 million American adults live with a disability. While canine assistance is not appropriate for every individual, hundreds of thousands of individuals meet the legal qualifying criteria under the ADA. Accredited programs often maintain waitlists of two to five years and receive far more qualified applications than they can support. The gap between demand and available assistance dogs is rooted in several structural challenges:

• High Career Change Rates: About 40% to 50% of candidate puppies do not complete service training because of health or temperament factors and are redirected into companion or facility roles.

• Volunteer Bottlenecks: Every dog requires a dedicated volunteer raiser or foster home committed to over a year of intensive socialization, class attendance, and daily care.

• Facility limitations:Without a dedicated central training facility, organizations face limits on how many dogs they can safely house, assess, and train at one time.

• Funding Constraints: Because dogs are placed at no cost to recipients, program growth depends heavily on annual fundraising.

• Development Time: Training cannot be rushed; building a safe, reliable working team requires about two years of patient, hands-on work.

Hawaii Fi-Do leaders say they are taking steps to address those challenges, but many nonprofit service dog organizations across the country face similar limitations.

A Unique Mission

Service dogs are legally permitted to accompany their handler anywhere the public can go, including grocery stores, restaurants, and at medical facilities. They may also accompany handlers on airplanes when airlines receive advance notice and required documentation. Service dogs differ from emotional support animals and therapy dogs. Emotional support animals may provide comfort, safety, or a calming presence for someone with a mental health condition, while therapy dogs are trained to visit public settings to comfort people other than their handlers. Neither has the same federal public access rights as a service dog because they are not trained to perform specific disability-related tasks.

Service dogs are also distinct from military working dogs, which are trained to support armed forces and law enforcement in operational and security roles such as explosives or drug detection.

Recommended Etiquette Around Service Dogs

Because service dogs perform essential tasks, people should always ask the handler for permission before touching, speaking to, or otherwise interacting with the dog. Doing so helps avoid distracting the dog from its work.

The ADA does not require service dogs to wear vests or display official certification or identification. If a dog’s purpose is not obvious, staff in public places may ask only two questions: whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability, and what work or task the dog has been trained to perform.

Lt. Benjamin Bryce, a Navy Sailor and volunteer board member for Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs, emphasized that not all disabilities are visible. He said the public should always approach service dog teams with care and respect.

Following that guidance helps ensure that service dogs like Missy can continue providing vital support to their handlers.

“Service dogs provide life-changing independence, freedom, and support to their human partners, and veterans are no exception,” Bryce said. “Time and again, I have witnessed the profound impact these dogs have on the lives of the people they serve, which is why I have dedicated a significant part of my life to this mission. Veterans and service dogs often form an exceptional partnership, offering meaningful benefits to one another.”

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