AMVETS

Apr 13, 2011

New VA Guide Dog And Service Dog Directive; Corresponding Bills In Congress

Al , Service Dogs, Veterans

It dawned on me that I haven’t mentioned the new VA directive on service dogs and guide dogs here, and since it came out last month without a lotta fanfare, I should.  And also mention the two corresponding bills in Congress designed to put the directive change into law.

The intent of the new directive is to correct a long-standing issue that I’ve written about here before (“AMVETS Addresses Two Tough Issues Concerning Service Dogs For Veterans”) where veterans with service dogs (even those approved by VA) were not allowed to take those dogs into VA medical facilities. In the past, each facility director was allowed to make their own policy, VA in DC couldn’t (or wouldn’t) step up and create a uniform policy for service dogs (as had been done long ago for guide dogs), but they have now done that.

I’ve included the entire directive in the images below, just click on them for the big versions. You can also download the PDF here:

“VHA Dir 2011-013, Guide Dogs and Service Dogs on Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Property”

VA says they have done a lot internally to educate their people about the new directive via publications, e-mail, and conference calls. I’ll be interested to hear what veterans encounter in individual facilities.

Note there are also two bills in Congress intended to codify this change, the concept being that, while directives are nice, faces change and we need to get this one into the law. If you’ve been here more than once, no secret to you that I’m not a big fan of trying to do things via the law for a number of reasons, not the least of which is you never really can count on what you’ll get. (All you need to do is look at the Stolen Valor Act – we have judges who’ve ruled that lying about your military service record is free speech protected by the First Amendment. Yeah, right.)

Nonetheless, I think this is a great idea and needs to be done. The House bill is H.R. 1154, “Veterans Equal Treatment for Service Dogs Act”; the Senate one is S. 769 – you can track those here:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-1154

http://www.govtrack.us/users/events.xpd?monitors=bill%3As112-769

If you are so inclined, contact your representatives and let them know you support these two bills.

Dec 30, 2010

Must-Read Article About Service Dogs For Veterans In Military Times Today

Al , , , , , Service Dogs

Absolute must-read article in Military Times and its associated individual service newsweeklies (Air Force Times, Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times) today for anyone with an interest in service dogs for veterans, especially a veteran thinking about getting a service dog.

It’s not long – just go read the whole thing, and have anyone you can think of with a possible interest read it as well. Lotta stuff said there in a very public venue that’s needed to be said and, frankly, hasn’t been. Or at least not often enough or by those I’d expect to be saying it, anyway.

“Disabled troops, vets misled on service dogs”


Coupla small quibbles for me there, but not serious enough to be relevant or affect the overall thrust at all.

I’ve been directly involved with this specific subject daily for over four years, and service dogs in general longer than that, and I can tell you with complete certainty that most veterans, their families, and the professionals working with them still have NO IDEA what’s available, which places are good, which are not, and so on.

In fact, it’s even worse now than when I first got involved with it because of both the increased potential veteran demand for service dogs and the misleading information pumped out daily by the media, bloggers, some organizations, and even veterans with dogs themselves.

Super job by my friend Christina Roof at AMVETS once again stepping into the breach to educate everyone with the straight story.

Sep 29, 2010

AMVETS Addresses Two Tough Issues Concerning Service Dogs For Veterans

Al , , , , Service Dogs

Big points to Christina Roof and AMVETS for issuing this press release yesterday (“AMVETS Clarifies Stance On Veterans’ Service Dogs”) and taking on some unpopular issues nobody seems to want to deal with, particularly the second one.

Definitely worth reading the whole thing because there are a lot of good background details you want to be aware of in it (and, for the record, I had nothing to do with it at all – we just agree about a lot of  things), but here are the two main issues.  The first one everybody will get behind, the second I have no doubt AMVETS will take heat for, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re correct and the issue needs to be addressed:

“…access for service dogs other than guide dogs to VA facilities remains at the discretion of each individual medical center director.”

I’ve discussed this before, but the ADA doesn’t cover public access for anyone at VA facilities other than employees.  The result (and there are documented cases of this happening right now) is the classic Catch-22 where a veteran has a legitimate service dog under the ADA, that dog has been approved for benefits by the VA, but the veteran can’t take the dog into VA facilities, in many cases the very ones where he’s receiving treatment for the same physical issues for which he has the dog.

“There are no current ADI standards for psychiatric service dogs and minimal scientific data to support assertions on their overall effectiveness… Given the current situation, AMVETS warns that accepting assertions about psychiatric service dogs at face value could prove to be a disservice to affected veterans, only creating more hurdles to earned care and benefits.”

If you went by the majority of what you see online, on TV, and in print, you’d never realize this was the case – you’d think this was a done deal.  Well, it’s not, and as I’ve said many times, I have big qualms about this whole area, particularly since so many have “declared victory and gone home” on this subject, as if the mere fact that a veteran suffering with post-traumatic stress is out in public with a dog proves that the dog is working and that it is an effective solution.

As I’ve said, I want to write shorter posts more often rather than longer ones, so I will continue to address why I feel that way in other posts.  There are a number of solid reasons, and I will, as always, do my best to give you the information and tools you need to make your own decisions.

Jun 11, 2010

Veterans With Service Dogs Are Now Eligible For VA Benefits, But May Need To Reapply

Al , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

NOTE:  I previously incorrectly referred to the VA payments as a monthly stipend.  I’ve made those corrections here and on other posts as well.  There’s enough misinformation on the subject of service dogs out there already without me adding to it – my apologies.

My friend Christina Roof at AMVETS just posted a reminder about this a few days ago, which reminded ME that I shoulda put this up when it first happened in April, and didn’t (no good reason).

Veterans with service dogs are now eligible for the same VA benefits that veterans with guide dogs have been receiving for years.

Details here:  “VA Clarifies Veterans’ Assistance Dog Policies, Offering Benefits For New and Previously-Denied Claims”

This is an absolute must-read for anyone with an interest in service dogs for veterans (i.e., EVERYBODY). It explains the VA policy on service dogs, the process to have one approved, and how to apply for the  benefits VA provides for care of the dog. (BTW, the link in that article to the VA site is wrong – this is the correct one: http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/ServiceDogFAQ.asp )

I talked about this issue back in September of last year (“Finally, The Real Story About The Department Of Veterans Affairs And Service Dogs For Veterans”). As I said at the time, it seemed like, after 7 years of saying they weren’t gonna do it, the service dog change just ‘showed up’ on the VA website one day without any announcement.  Plus it also appeared that veterans were still getting differing answers about that change depending on what office they talked to.

This clarification addresses those issues. And, as the AMVETS release says, you need to reapply for this benefit even if – in fact, ESPECIALLY if – you were turned down before.

The big issue here, and my concern all along, has been that there could’ve been many veterans who might’ve applied for a service dog, but haven’t because they’ve been concerned about handling the routine expenses, and they just didn’t want to say that.

We’re never gonna know how many we missed in the 7 years it took to make this change, but at least that’s not something we should have to worry about any more.

Assuming, of course, the process works as advertised. I’m VERY interested to see people’s experiences with it -  please let me know what they are, good or bad.

ble for the same VA monthly stipend for expenses that veterans with guide dogs have been receiving for years.

Mar 27, 2010

Wounded Warriors And Service Dogs Visit Congress To Discuss Legislation

Al , , , , , , Service Dogs

There’s a new CNN video up today about an AMVETS and Paws With a Cause sponsored Capitol Hill visit of veterans and their service dogs last week that’s getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so.



Definitely watch the video, but the real key here is WHY they were visiting – concerns over both existing/pending legislation and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ response – and you really need to read the two AMVETS blog posts associated with the visit to understand that.

“AMVETS, Paws With A Cause Take the Hill”

“AMVETS, Paws With A Cause Take the Hill (Part 2)”

As explained in the first post:

AMVETS Deputy National Legislative Director Christina Roof and Paws With A Cause National Marketing Manager Deb Davis joined the veterans, helping to explain shortfalls in current policy toward assistance dogs and pushing to close loopholes and improve access for veterans who could benefit from new programs.

The post then describes some of the major concerns Assistance Dogs International accredited and member organizations have with both the legislation and the VA response (which, in spite of the impression that may have been created elsewhere, is still being worked on and has not been finalized):

- Statutes and policies must be clear to veterans and implemented throughout the VA system with a clear point of contact. The current language found in Title 38 of the U.S. Code is too vague, failing to identify what VA’s actual responsibilities should be.

- When drafting responsible assistance dog placement and training legislation for veterans, a standard must be established based on proven assistance dog industry standards and practices exemplified by Assistance Dogs International, or ADI, and the International Guide Dog Federation, or IGDF. The bills currently before Congress are too vague and misuse certain industry terms interchangeably, such as guide dog, service dog, therapy dog, and assistance dog, making policy nearly impossible to properly implement.

- Decisive action must be taken in the short term, since thousands of veterans could potentially benefit from any new program, and AMVETS and Paws With A Cause are happy to work with legislators to make this happen. Though VA may have concerns over cost, the return on investment from veterans who take advantage of assistance dogs would have far-reaching effects as veterans re-enter the work force and live up to their full potential.

I can tell you that volunteers and staff from Canine Companions for Independence and other ADI member organizations as well as other veterans organizations are actively working those issues and have been making visits to Congress, both formal and informal, for some time.

You normally don’t see much, if anything, in the news about those visits, though, so it’s very nice to see this kind of publicity, and kudos to AMVETS and PAWS for making that happen.

Bottom line, as I’ve been saying for a long time, is that it’s not enough to just say we’re for service dogs for veterans, we have to make that happen in the right way.