Service dogs available to veterans, but there is a process – Berkeley Independent

Mainly clear skies. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable..
Mainly clear skies. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: February 9, 2022 @ 9:38 pm
The VA acknowledges that medical professionals and researchers are determining the effectiveness of service dogs for people with mental health disorders.
Veterans interested in receiving service dogs for mental health problems may receive help from the VA, but only if the dogs can also aid with physical disabilities as well.

The VA acknowledges that medical professionals and researchers are determining the effectiveness of service dogs for people with mental health disorders.
Veterans interested in receiving service dogs for mental health problems may receive help from the VA, but only if the dogs can also aid with physical disabilities as well.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers many services to veterans, but a service animal is not one the agency is 100 percent committed to yet.
In some cases, the agency will pay for some of the cost and the care for the animal, but the department does not offer service animals directly. There is a long process and it can be a tedious one.
Ryan Chambers knows that. The West Ashley resident owns Chambers K-9 training company, which trains dogs for veterans in Berkeley and Charleston counties. In addition to the VA’s hurdles, he said, trainers and organizations strictly serving veterans are hard to find locally. Other organizations, like Veteran K9 Solutions and Hounds 4 Troops, have reached out to him for his help.
“I definitely want to get it going … on a bigger scale here in the Lowcountry,” Chambers said.
Chambers said he is currently working with a Navy veteran and the two of them are nearly finished training a Doberman for him.
“(The Navy veteran) told me he looked for me for over a year, like, ‘I couldn’t find anybody to help me. You are the only person I was able to find,’” Chambers said.
The VA’s prosthetic services manage the process of obtaining a service dog for a veteran, the idea being that service dogs help with mobility and physical healing. 
“By definition, a prosthetic device is anything that makes the body whole again, so that can be anywhere from a pair of eyeglasses to a wheelchair to a pacemaker to a service dog,” said David Bradbury, chief of Prosthetics and Sensory Aide Services at the Charleston Department of Veterans Affairs.
But making the body whole again does not currently include service dogs specifically for mental health. The VA acknowledges that medical professionals and researchers are still determining the effectiveness of service dogs for people with mental health disorders.
“Here in Charleston, we developed a service dog team in order to make a committee evaluation and recommendation,” Bradbury said. “We gather and discuss the case and make the recommendation based on information of, will that service animal support the rehabilitation program that the veteran is involved in through the Department of Veteran Affairs?”
Once a service or guide dog has been provided to an eligible veteran, Prosthetics will pay for veterinary medical care, as well as the equipment needed to use the dog, prescribed medications and certain visits to the veterinarian. But there is a new standard that must be met.
Last year, the VA announced it would help pay for service dogs for veterans who do have emotional issues, but the issues must also be related to a person’s ability to physically get around.
“The VA does not currently provide service dogs for emotional cognitive issues only. It must be … due to or along with a mobility concern,” Bradbury said.
For now, to get the therapeutic benefits a therapy dog can provide, veterans diagnosed with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other mental traumas have to look elsewhere — such as organizations like Service Dogs for Veterans out of Greenville.
“We find a rescue dog, a dog that’s a real gem and (the dog and the veteran) will learn and grow together for eight months,” said Bill Brightman executive director of Service Dogs for Veterans. “If you put them in school to train their dog, their focus becomes their dog and how to keep their dog motivated to learn.”
Following the training, the dog will have an accreditation to be a service animal. Brightman, who spent four years in the Navy, said the psychiatric service dogs are trained to do eight to 10 different tasks that can instantly ease a veteran during situations where their anxiety is triggered. The effort is largely funded by private donations and is a welcomed change for a lot of veterans dealing with emotional problems.
“Most veterans come to us feeling over medicated and recognize the VA isn’t going to pay for anything,” said Brightman. “It’s not unusual for our veterans to have cut their medications in half or get off of them all together. … They’ve been on pills, maybe 20 to 30 pills a day, to get through their day. It dulls their senses and makes them want to hibernate instead of interact.”
Some of the veterans Chambers has worked with have told him about the rigor involved with getting a service animal — animals which, once trained, are often life-changing.
“They told me the VA won’t provide service animals for them, there’s a funding issue and that sort of thing. I know that training with veterans, the VA is not helpful on many different fronts, other than service dogs,” Chambers said. “Having a dog that can really comfort them and guide them out of situations, it gives them a whole new quality of life.”
Currently there is some interest from federal lawmakers in getting service to dogs to more veterans. In February 2021, H.R.1022 – PAWS Act of 2021 was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill would allow grants less than $25,000 to aid veterans suffering from PTSD and other problems in getting a service dog. At this time, it is in committee, and no floor vote is scheduled.
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