OFF THE WIRE
Kitty Block and Sara Amundson
Service dogs can alert their owners to PTSD triggers, such as crowded
areas or unanticipated risks. They can also help to reduce their
handlers’ anxiety by providing security and a calming effect.
Photo by Shutterstock
The U.S. House has just approved a bill that would expand
opportunities for veterans to get involved with training and adopting
service dogs, leading to better lives for both the animals and the
people helping them.
The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, H.R. 4305, will create a pilot
program at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help
individuals with post-deployment mental health disorders by pairing them
with dogs to train as service animals. The bill directs the VA to
provide grants to nonprofit entities that teach veterans how to train
service dogs. Once the program is completed, veterans can, if they wish,
adopt their dogs for ongoing therapy.
The measure passed the House by a voice vote. The issue has such
strong bipartisan support, the bill arrived on the House floor with 324
cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.
There are few who would deny that we owe a special debt of gratitude
to those men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces,
especially in combat. This is particularly true given our current
understanding of the significant emotional challenges associated with
conflict and its aftermath. An alarming number of veterans and current
service members face an invisible and formidable enemy in Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder and other mental health challenges.
The legislation relies upon some of the best mental health
interventions available. Working with service dogs has been shown to enhance mental health.
Among other benefits, it helps participants focus attention and energy
toward training the dog. Moreover, the positive emotions they
experience when the dogs perform their tasks well can produce
demonstrable social and psychological benefits, too.
Therapy centered on productive and satisfying employment has also
been shown to successfully lower depression, anxiety, anger, sleep
disturbances and alcohol and substance abuse, as well as enhance
interpersonal relationships.
Once the service dogs are trained, they can be invaluable companions
for veterans. They often alert their owners to PTSD triggers, such as
crowded areas or unanticipated risks. They can also help to reduce their
handlers’ anxiety by providing security and a calming effect. And any
dog breed is fit to serve, including Labradors, golden retrievers, mixed
breeds and animals rescued from shelters.
No society can afford to neglect the post-deployment well-being of
its service members. Our thanks to Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, Kathleen
Rice, D-N.Y., John Rutherford, R-Fla., Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., Michael
Walz, R-Fla., Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., Neal Dunn, R-Fla., and Elissa
Slotkin, D-Mich., for recognizing the social, psychological and medical
benefits that the human-animal bond provides to improve the health and
well-being of veterans, and for their leadership in bringing this
measure so far in such a short time. We now urge the Senate to swiftly
act upon a companion bill, the K9s for Veterans Therapy Act, S. 2948,
sponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. This
well-crafted, urgently needed legislation is worthy of every American’s
support.
Sara Amundson is president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.