In the United States alone, there are around 2,273 service dogs placed every year as of 2021, however there are 3.9 million people under 20 who have one or more disabilities and many that could potentially benefit from a service dog (Lindsay and Thiyagarajah, 2021). This reveals the lack of service dogs available to people in need. Among the many obstacles, one of the main ones that contributes to a low supply of service dogs is the training process. Many dogs do not make it through the process successfully, often due to behavior issues, “An additional obstacle is that, even after undergoing rigorous selection and training, large numbers of dogs who enter training fail to complete these programs, largely for behavioral reasons” (Bray et. al, 2021). This raises even more issues with the fact that unsuccessful dogs mean precious resources, time, and training, are wasted. This further slows up the process of getting trained service dogs out into the field. There are only a select few dogs who are successful in graduating to the service field, and this becomes an issue when it means that more people who need assistance cannot get it simply due to the fact that there just is not a dog available to them. 

               The other major barrier preventing service dogs from getting to where they need to be is the cost, “Owning a service dog can also come with some challenges such as cost” (Lindsay and Thiyagarajah, 2021) and, “service dogs require daily care and medical upkeep, which can present a financial burden to the owner” (Shintani, 2020). The issue is both the cost of getting a dog in the first place and the cost of caring for them. Service dogs are expensive, averaging $15,000-$30,000 and some can even be upwards of $50,000 depending on their specific tasks and responsibilities. This means that service dogs are not necessarily affordable for the majority of the American population. There are so many benefits to owning a service dog, “The comparison with the control group indicated that service dogs alleviate the mental burden of daily activities, and subjectively improved the physical functioning of their owners” (Shintani et. al, 2020). This is further supported by Lindsay and Thiyagarajah’s research, “Our review highlights the impacts of service dogs on physical health for children, including helping them with diabetes management, seizure management, and enhanced mobility. Service dogs have beneficial impacts on psychological health including improved quality of life, safety, behavior, stress, anxiety, self-confidence and independence” (Lindsay and Thiyagarajah, 2021). All these benefits cannot be utilized by the majority of those who need it because they simply cannot afford a dog and the improved lifestyle that comes with it. However, there are things that can be done on multiple scales to help improve these [major] issues. On the individual level, one can raise money or simply donate to organizations such as Canine Companions that address these issues. A community can work together to raise money as well. On a global scale, there is work that can be done to support or create more organizations like Canine Companions that trains top quality service dogs and provides them to those in need free of any charge.