Military Veterans Benefit from 24/7 Human-Canine Partnership

Perhaps you are wondering if you should get a service dog to assist with your psychiatric symptoms? Perhaps you live with PTSD, Major Depression, Panic Disorder, or other mental health diagnoses. Is a Service Dog the right therapeutic intervention for you? If you believe it is, then, should you train the dog yourself, or should you get one from a program that serves veterans? Here are a few things to consider.

One of the most valuable forms of assistance that a Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD) can provide is the dog’s ability to ‘cue’ to changes in your physiology that are indicative of oncoming episodes of mental illness or the fact that you are ‘triggered’ in a given situation. A dog’s ability to ‘cue’ to your physiology is entirely dependent upon the bond that is established in the context of 24/7 togetherness over the course of many months. Learning to recognize your service dog’s subtle cues is something that takes time. It is helpful if you have knowledgeable PSD handlers on hand who can give you some guidance on recognizing these critical cues.

If you get a PSD from a program, the dog will not be able to ‘cue’ to your physiology, as this cannot be taught by someone else. Your program dog will know how to perform some physical tasks that you may or may not need, but that’s all the dog will be able to do for you at the time of placement.

The Psychiatric Service Dog Society promotes the owner-trainer model because our twelve years of experience has demonstrated that owner-training produces a better PSD. There is no better way to get your PSD to cue to your physiology than raising and training the dog yourself. Our website is geared entirely to the owner-trainer. You should start the learning process by reading our FAQ.

We also encourage you to join our veterans-only listserv. Here you can network with other veterans who are living with PTSD and other mental health diagnoses and who are training their own PSD. To join this group we require a phone call. So, send us an email and let us know that you are a veteran who is interested in joining our veterans listserv. Provide your phone number and someone will call you back.

As you may have noticed, we are backlogged on our phone calls right now. We recently asked our veterans’ listserv members if anyone would be willing to help us return veterans’ phone calls. We received a robust response from our veteran members so we should be able to reduce this phone call back-log relatively soon. Please be patient as we maneuver into a more efficient system. In the meantime, enjoy the updated table for PSD assistance below. This table shows the forms of assistance that a PSD can provide to veterans with PTSD. It is intended to stimulate your own thinking about how a dog can assist you with your symptoms.

• Vets Using Watchdogs Against PTSD
  Reference: Jordan, B., Vets Using Watchdogs Against PTSD (2010) Military.com, September 8, 2010
  http://www.military.com/news/article/vets-using-watchdogs-against-ptsd.html, Accessed September 10, 2010.



• Title 38 Empowers the VA to provide Reimbursement for Service Dog Expenses



• VA Presentation on Service Dog Benefits



• How to Apply for Service Dog Expenses Reimbursement
  
  Note: The VA will not provide any service dog benefits for veterans with PTSD or other psychiatric conditions. The VA claims that it must wait for the conclusion of the Franken Study which is supposed to test the efficacy of psychiatric service dogs for veterans living with mental health disabilities. The problem with this stance is that the VA is willing to provide service dog benefits for veterans with physical disabilities, even though, service dogs for this purpose have never been assessed scientifically for efficacy. Furthermore, the Franken Study mandates that the VA conduct a scientific research study on the efficacy of both service dogs for physical and for mental disabilities. Nonetheless, the VA has decided not to abide by the congressional mandate in so far as it intends to conduct a study on psychiatric service dogs but not service dogs for veterans with physical disabilities. Thus, the VA is employing a double-standard on the issue of service dog benefits for veterans. On the one hand, it is willing to provide service dog benefits for veterans with physical disabilities, even though the use of such dogs has never been proven in the context of a scientific study. Yet, it refuses to provide a service dog benefit for veterans with mental health disabilities because, the VA claims, the use of such dogs has never been proven in the context of a scientific study. Write to your Congressional representatives today. This is the manifestation of stigma and it must be stopped. The Franken Study will not conclude (realistically) for another four years! How many veterans will commit suicide before the VA feels that it has enough evidence to act?



• Public Law 107-135 regarding Service Dogs and the VA.
  
  
• A 2007 VA memo on Service Dogs.
  
  
• Dogs perform healing tricks for PTSD veterans, Donohoe, S., Dogs perform healing tricks for PTSD veterans, Medill Reports Washington, March 20, 2008. Reference: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=84485. Accessed August 29, 2009.
  
  Note: You will have to copy/paste the URL above into your browser window. There is an audio recording you should listen to.
  
  
• WSJ Puppies Behind Bars by Yochi J. Dreazen
  
  
• Legislation: Franken amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act will direct the VA to undertake a research study on service dogs for veterans. (PASSED)
  
  
• Esnayra, J., Love, C., (2009) Abstract Title: The Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD) Therapeutic Model: Harnessing Twelve Years of Grass-Roots Development, prepared for the Waltham Foundation Conference, August 3-5, 2009, Leicester, England.
  
  Note: This short abstract briefly mentions the Walter Reed Study.
  
  
• Service Dogs Help Traumatized Veterans Heal by A. Gardner
  
  
• Service Dog Helps War Vet Cope by Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian
  
  
• Pooch Platoon Gives Traumatised Troops New Life by Christina Lamb
  
  
• Service Dogs Provide Protection and Companionship in Times of Trouble by Rob McIlvaine, FMWRC Public Affairs
  
  
• Rights of Veterans Under the Americans with Disabilities Act from the US DOJ
  
  
• Non-Reseach Animals in Health Care Failities from the Department of Veterans Affairs
  
  
• Letter from IRS to Congressman Tanner (R-TN) regarding Deductibility of Service Animal Expenses
  
  

•  PSD for Veterans on the Pentagon Channel
  
  
•   A Veteran and His Service Dog - Meet Jim and Sarge
  
  
• Soldier's best friend: Dogs help ease the transition to normal life for American veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, August 27, 2010, Canadian Broadcasting Company.
  
  

• 1. Washington Post July 12, 2009. Photo by Nikki Kahn.
  
  
• 2. Washington Post August 29, 2009. No photo attribution provided.
  
  

• Find your state/territory Department of Veterans Affairs website http://www.va.gov/statedva.htm



• Information about the VA's drug formulary http://www.pbm.va.gov/default.aspx



• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp



• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Forms Database http://www.va.gov/vaforms/



• Veterans Benefits Network (User group and chat board) http://p203.ezboard.com/bvetbenefits



• VA’s Suicide Hot Line Begins Operations http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1363



• Gateway to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Information http://www.ptsdinfo.org/



• Interview with Military Veteran and PSDS Member Karen Alexander http://www.weartv.com/players/news/top_stories/vid_2084.shtml