On August 24, 2021, President Biden signed the Puppies Assisting Wounded Service members for Veterans Therapy Act (PAWS Act) into law. This law authorizes Veterans Affairs to use dog therapy and training programs to assist veterans with mental illnesses.
The five-year, $10 million pilot program takes effect on January 1, 2022 and will allow Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs free of charge to veterans suffering from PTSD (via 13 News Now).
Many organizations have worked for years to provide service dogs to veterans in need. Now, they’re applauding the new law and the good it will do for those who served.
The PAWS Act Gets Praise From Advocates
K9s for Warriors CEO Rory Diamond praised the signing of the law and the much needed help it will provide veterans who average over 20 suicides per day. “We commend the White House for supporting this bill as a critical step in combatting veteran suicide, and we’re confident in the path ahead for Service Dogs ultimately becoming a covered VA benefit to veterans with PTSD,” he said in a news release.
“In communicating with veterans and their healthcare providers, it’s more imperative than ever to embrace the lifesaving impact of a Service Dog and to raise awareness for this treatment option as a proven method for mitigating debilitating symptoms of PTSD and suicidal ideations.”
Diamond also added, “This has been a five-year battle to try and convince the federal government that what we do every day is valuable and helps veterans. They’re finally agreeing, and we’re getting a big breakthrough here.”
According to the news release, the law will also “provide veterans participating in the program with the opportunity to adopt a dog that they actively assisted in their training, provided that the veteran and their health provider determine it to be in the best interest of the veteran.”
‘I Never Thought In a Million Years A Service Dog Would Be The Answer’
For one Navy veteran, his new companion service dog has been a life saver. “I needed help and I didn’t know where it would come from. I didn’t know what form it would be in.”
It took only three weeks to complete the K9s for Warriors program. Following that, the veteran said, “I never thought in a million years a service dog would be the answer.”
Diamond expressed excitement for his programs to get federal funding in order to help save the lives of countless veterans. “We know we are going to be able to save so many more warriors,” he said. “Of course, K9s for Warriors being the largest and best known for doing it, we will be leading the way.”
DogTime interviewed K9s For Warriors in 2019. You can read that interview here.
Are you or a family member former military who has a service dog? Are you happy to see this new law providing service dogs to veterans in need? Then let us know in the comments below.
