Veterans Service Dog Seeks Federal Funding Boost From Senators 

A bipartisan group of Senators wants to boost funding for veterans service dogs of a fledgling VA treatment program for those suffering from PTSD and other disorders.

Veterans Service Dog Seeks Federal Funding Boost From Senators  (PHOTO: Washington Times)

Senators Are funding The Veterans Service Dogs

The Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act, or SAVES Act, is seeking the Department of Veterans Affairs to set a competitive budget program to finance nonprofit organizations providing veterans service dogs to veterans that has a variety of disabilities, such as vision impairments and various forms of PTSD.

The Washing Times reported that worth $10 million would be set to be annually applied to the grant program over four years.

Under the legislation, nonprofit organizations that are certified to train veteran service dogs are eligible to apply for $2 million maximum grant funding to spend for the cost of training the canine and veteran service dogs who acquires the companion.

Grant money would also cover the expenses for the ongoing support after a service dog and veteran are connected.

The legislation was supported by a dozen veterans organizations. Carl Cricco, CEO of K9s for Warriors, stated that his organization lives to fight veteran suicide.  Cricco said pairing a veteran with a service dog often results in lowering the use of medications and suicidal thoughts.

Research done by the VA in 2020 indicated that veterans paired with service dogs had less severe PTSD symptoms and had “fewer suicidal behaviors and ideations.”

The SAVES Act follows a comparable bill authorized by Congress two years ago that provided federal funding for pilot programs that would give veterans with PTSD canine training. The previous program was a “great step in the right direction” but was limited, Cricco said.

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The New Plan For Veterans Service Dogs Would Expand More

The new plan would go a step further, expanding the pool of eligible veterans and providing grants for service dogs that are already trained and waiting for a companion.

Veteran service dogs program can be eligible to those who are enrolled with the VA and have a disability such as paralysis or other significant mobility issues, blindness or a visual impairment, hearing loss, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, military sexual trauma, or “any other disability that the [VA] Secretary considers appropriate.”

The program would also alleviate some of the financial obligations that organizations like Cricco take on to provide service dogs to veterans.

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