ABOUT SD GUNNER FUND

SD Gunner Fund (SDGF) is a nonprofit that helps veterans, first responders, and children improve their health and well-being by providing fully trained service and facility therapy dogs at no cost. There is a great need for our services in Coastal Georgia and South Carolina! Since our founding in 2014, SDGF has directly served over 500 children and adults and provided more than 65,000 hours of dog training. To learn more about SD Gunner Fund, visit https://sdgunner.org/

OUR FACILITY DOG PROGRAM

SD Gunner Fund has trained facility dogs since 2018. Our dogs provide over 400,000 therapeutic visits each year at children’s museums, health clinics, and K-12 schools. Unlike service dogs that support one person, facility dogs are trained to help many people at once.

Our facility dogs work full-time during standard work hours. These dogs are specially trained to support students, young patients, teachers, and medical professionals. Here are some of the ways they help:

Improve reading, language, and communication skills
Reduce anxiety, depression, and pain
Improve social skills
Boost confidence and self-esteem
Encourage a positive attitude toward learning Reduce negative classroom behaviors
Reduce negative classroom behaviors
Decrease absenteeism

OUR SUCCESS SO FAR

SD Gunner Fund trains facility therapy dogs and helps organizations establish their therapy dog programs. Currently, our 10 trained therapy dogs reach more than150,000 children each year at the following locations:

Chatterbox Pediatric Therapy
Effingham County School District
Memorial Children’s Hospital
The Speech Path
Rabun County School District
Now We’re Talking Therapy Services
Independent therapists’ office

Our dogs help students relax before big exams. They listen closely to children who are working to overcome communication disorders. They also offer a supportive paw to young patients facing a stressful illness.

HELP US REACH MORE CHILDREN!

It costs SD Gunner Fund $8,400 to train and support a new facility dog and their handler. Our facility partners help cover some of these costs when they can, but SD Gunner Fund must raise the rest. That is why we need your support!

SD Gunner Fund will train and support nine new facility dogs and handlers in 2024 to support pediatric healthcare clinics and K-12 schools. This will only be possible with the community’s support. Please donate so we can help more children thrive!

Donate to SD Gunner Fund's Facility Therapy Dog Program!

Help us reach more children!