# Service Dogs of Southern Nevada

> Henderson nonprofit training assistance dogs for veterans and first responders

- Trade: Nonprofit
- Location: Las Vegas Valley (serves Henderson and Southern Nevada)
- Website: https://www.servicedogsofsouthernnevada.org/
- Phone: (702) 882-3694
- 702 Alliance status: Claimed by the owner (2026-10-17)
- Profile: https://702alliance.com/members/service-dogs-of-southern-nevada/

Service Dogs of Southern Nevada (SDSN) is a nonprofit in Henderson that helps veterans and first responders get assistance dogs. It does that by training the dog a person already has or by helping them choose a dog suited to the work. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer lists it as a 501(c)(3) with its tax exemption issued in August 2025, so it is a young organization.

## Training that stays at home

Instead of sending dogs away, SDSN works one-on-one with the handler and the dog together, at home and in public. The website says training is a minimum one-year commitment and that it uses verbal praise, gentle but firm verbal correction and specialized equipment, with no shock collars. It says the method comes from military and police working-dog training, refined over 50 years, and that more than 100 service animals have been trained with it. Its founder, Ira Smith, has been training dogs since 1974.

## Tasks the dogs learn

- Interrupting panic attacks and waking handlers from nightmares (PTSD)
- Helping with memory, focus and balance after a brain injury
- Retrieving dropped medication, phones and keys
- Bracing and steadying for mobility and balance problems
- Alerting to sounds or guiding around obstacles for partial hearing or vision loss

SDSN says its training follows the standards of Assistance Dogs International and the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners. Each finished dog is certified for at least three tasks and has to pass a public access test.

## Applying and paying

Veterans and first responders apply on the website and join a waitlist. SDSN then works to raise the money for training through donations, sponsors, and fundraisers such as raffles, car washes and scavenger hunts, so the cost to the applicant is little or nothing. Each applicant gets a free personal donation page.

SDSN shares its phone number, (702) 882-3694, with The K-9 Handler, a separate dog-training business listed in this directory.

## Contact Service Dogs of Southern Nevada

Henderson, Nevada
(702) 882-3694
[Business website](https://www.servicedogsofsouthernnevada.org/)

Researched and checked October 17, 2026. [Source 1](https://www.servicedogsofsouthernnevada.org/about) · [Source 2](https://www.servicedogsofsouthernnevada.org/join-our-list) · [Source 3](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/393042748) · [Source 4](https://www.thek9handler.com/about/). Seat claimed by the owner October 17, 2026. Founder detail from Ira Smith, October 17, 2026. For corrections or removal, email [cody@702alliance.com](mailto:cody@702alliance.com).

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From 702 Alliance (https://702alliance.com/members/service-dogs-of-southern-nevada/), a free directory of independent Las Vegas Valley businesses. Corrections: cody@702alliance.com.