Reinstate Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD
This petition is to reinstate a recently-suspended program by the Department of Veterans Affairs which gave therapy dogs to veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).
We hereby call for the reinstatement of the Department of Veterans Affairs study program that paired veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with service dogs for the purpose of research into treatment. The program was launched in June 2011 and supposed to run through 2014 while tracking 230 paired vets and dogs, but was recently suspended by the VA after the enrollment of only seventeen dogs. We also call for the department to support veterans paired with such dogs, as they do with veterans with visible disabilities. Although there has been little research on the benefits of dogs specifically helping people with PTSD, research exists which shows the benefits of dogs to people with many different types of mental illness. Early feedback from the program indicated very positive results, with veterans experiencing great improvements in social interaction and reduction of the number medications required for their treatment. With suicide attempts by veterans with PTSD at more than 30 per day, with about half succeeding, any method of treatment with the promise shown by this program should be fully studied and funded.
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