NewsFlash | Service Dogs

Service Dogs

Americans with Disabilities Act — Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Service animals are working animals, not pets. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. 

Service Dogs — Service dogs are guide or service dogs prescribed for a disabled veteran for the purpose of the veteran being diagnosed as having a visual, hearing, or substantial mobility impairment. VA’s authority for Service Dogs (guide, hearing, seizure, and mobility dogs) is in 38 CFR 17.148 - Service Dogs. To apply, Veterans may contact their clinician or facility Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service department. A referral to a specialist may be requested through the assigned VA primary care provider. The specialist will complete an evaluation and make a clinical determination on the need for assistive devices, including a service dog. Each Veteran's case is reviewed and evaluated by a prescribing clinician for the following:

• Means to care for the dog currently and in the future.
• Goals that are accomplished through the use of the dog.
• Goals that are to be accomplished through other assistive technology or therapy.

VA provides a veterinary health insurance benefit and other benefits in support of service dogs to maximize the life and utility of these specialized dogs. In order to qualify the dog must be trained and from an Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) accredited service dog organization. This ensures Veterans receive the highest level of quality and training standards. The veteran must provide to VA a certificate showing successful completion issued by the accredited organization that provided such program. VA does not provide Service Dogs but does provide this insurance benefit for eligible Veterans through VHA Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service which administers this program. 

Assistance Dogs International (ADI) — ADI is a worldwide coalition of not-for-profit programs that train and place Assistance Dogs. ADI is a coalition of non-profit organizations that raise, train and place assistance dogs. ADI does not directly provide, train, certify or register individual assistance dogs or assistance dog teams, as that is the function of our member organizations. ADI certification is only available to assistance dog partnered teams that were trained by our accredited member programs. Assistance Dogs is a generic term for a guide, hearing, or service dog specifically trained to do three or more tasks to mitigate the effects of an individual’s disability. The presence of a dog for protection, personal defense, or comfort does not qualify that dog as an assistance dog. ADI does not recognize emotional support dogs. Most ADI accredited programs do not train, place or certify emotional support dogs.

International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) — The IGDF is comprised of 95 member organizations, whose purpose is to serve people who are blind or have low vision around the world, by training and providing Guide Dogs. A guide dog is a dog which has been specially trained to help people who are blind or visually impaired with their mobility. Assistance dog is a general term, which includes guide dogs, for any dog which has been specially trained to help a person with a disability to perform specific tasks. Guide dogs make an enormous difference to the lives of blind and visually impaired people. Not only do they bring the gift of independence, they also bring support, companionship and joy to people.

Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) to Pilot in VISN 20 at VA Medical Center in Anchorage Alaska — VA is implementing a five-year pilot program to provide canine training to eligible Veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as an element of a complementary and integrative health program at 5 VA facilities including Anchorage, AK. Veterans are assisting in training candidate service dogs in canine obedience and needed specialized training. Certified dog trainers are leading these groups and most of the dogs being trained will become service dogs for fellow Veterans.

To participate in the pilot program, a Veteran must meet three threshold conditions for eligibility; namely, the Veteran must be:

1. Enrolled in the VA health care system;
2. Diagnosed with PTSD; and
3. Recommended by a VA mental health care provider or VA clinical team.

The PAWS pilot does not involve distributing service dogs. In this pilot, Veterans assist in training candidate service dogs in 8, weekly classes. Data gathered during the PAWS Pilot will be used to assess Veteran outcomes including satisfaction to determine whether to extend or make permanent the pilot program. Additional VA Medical Centers of the PAWS Act pilot program are located in West Palm Beach, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; and Palo Alto, California.

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Veterans Integrated Service Network 20 (VISN 20) serves 135 counties in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and extending into Del Norte County California and Lincoln County Montana. VISN 20 is the largest geographic region of VA and home to 273 federally recognized American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes, 229 of which are located in Alaska. Encompassing 23% of the US land mass, VISN 20 spans three time zones over 817,417 square miles. VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) and the Portland VA Health Care System (VAPORHCS) were commissioned by Congress and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as one of the first three Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (MIRECCs) in the United States. VAPSHCS serves Veterans from a five-state area in the Pacific Northwest with two main divisions: American Lake VA Medical Center and Seattle VA Medical Center. VA Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers in Washington are located in Bellingham, Bellevue, Bremerton, Chehalis, Edmunds, Everett, Federal Way, Lacey, Mount Vernon, Olympia, Port Angeles, Puyallup, Richland, Renton, Silverdale, Seattle, Spokane, Union Gap, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Yakima. Veterans in Washington are also served by VA Medical Centers in Spokane, Vancouver, and Walla Walla. VAPORHCS serves Veterans in Oregon and Southwest Washington with two main divisions: Portland VA Medical Center and Vancouver VA Medical Center. VA Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers in Oregon are located in Bend, Boardman, Brookings, Enterprise, Eugene, Fairview, Grants Pass, Hines, Hillsboro, Klamath Falls, LaGrande, Lincoln City, Newport, Portland, Salem, The Dalles, Warrenton, and West Linn. Veterans in Oregon are also served by VA Medical Centers in Roseburg, White City, and Vancouver, Washington.

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VA provides health care for Veterans from providers in the local community outside of VA. Veterans may be eligible to receive care from a community provider when VA cannot provide the care needed. VA launched its new and improved Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) on June 6, 2019, implementing portions of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018 (MISSION Act), which both ended the Veterans Choice Program and established VCCP. Types of care under the new VCCP include General Community Care, Urgent Care, Emergency Care, Foreign Medical Care, Home Health and Hospice Care, Indian and Tribal Health Services, In Vitro Fertilization, State Veterans Home, and Flu Shots. Veterans work with their VA health care provider or other VA staff to see if they are eligible to receive community care based on new criteria. The VA Community Care Network (CCN) is VA’s direct link with community providers to ensure Veterans receive timely, high-quality care.

Vet Centers in the VISN 20 Health Care Network are community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including professional readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans, active-duty Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force service members, including National Guard and Reserve components, and their families. 1-877-WAR-VETS is an around the clock confidential call center where Veterans, service members and their families can talk about their military experience or any other issue they are facing in transitioning after military service or trauma and get connected to their nearest Vet Center.

Vet Centers in VISN 20

Vet Centers provide counseling to make a successful transition from military to civilian life or after a traumatic event experienced in the military. Individual, group, marriage and family counseling is offered in addition to referral and connection to other VA or community benefits and services. If you can’t make it to a nearby Vet Center, VA offers satellite Vet Center locations and Mobile Vet Centers that may be closer to you.

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VA has a variety of mental health resources, information, treatment options, and more — all accessible to Veterans, Veterans’ supporters, and the general public. Explore the pages below to learn more about a specific mental health topic. Each of these pages includes resources, information on treatment options, and more.

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