A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation to create a federal grant program that would provide a wider swath of veterans with service dogs.
The Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act, or SAVES Act, would require the Department of Veteran Affairs to establish a competitive grant program to fund nonprofit organizations providing service dogs to veterans with a range of disabilities from vision impairments to various forms of PTSD.
It would set aside $10 million to be annually applied to the grant program over four years.
“The SAVES Act will allow more veterans who are struggling with the invisible wounds of war to receive service dogs that could ultimately save their lives,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican sponsoring the bill. “We must repay the debt to the men and women who served our country. I hope Congress quickly passes this legislation to provide them with this important resource.”
Under the legislation, nonprofit organizations that are accredited to train service dogs can apply for a maximum of $2 million in grant funding to pay for the cost of training the canine and veteran who receives the companion.
Grant money would also pay for ongoing support after a service dog and veteran are connected.
Nearly a dozen veterans organizations support the legislation. Carl Cricco, CEO of K9s for Warriors, said that his organization exists to fight veteran suicide. Mr. Cricco said pairing a veteran with a service dog often results in reduced use of medications and suicidal thoughts.
Research done by the VA in 2020 showed that veterans paired with service dogs had less severe PTSD symptoms and had “fewer suicidal behaviors and ideations.”
The SAVES Act follows a similar 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, Mr. Cricco said.
The new plan would go a step further, expanding the pool of eligible veterans and providing funding for service dogs already trained and waiting for a companion.
A veteran can be eligible for a service dog under the program if they are enrolled with the VA and have a disability such as paralysis or other significant mobility issues, blindness or a visual impairment, hearing loss, a 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 burdens that organizations like Mr. Cricco’s take on to provide service dogs to veterans.
“The importance of this is huge,” Mr. Cricco said.